EMRLD
by TheMasterPlan7823
Summary: Edward Mercer, his sister Megan, Renaldo Hellsing, Laurent Holmes, David Morgan. Some ties are thick, some thin as paper. But these five have a destiny together, one that can and will change the world as they know it
1. E

_Edward and Megan's parents (At the time of the flashback)_

 _James Kidd Mercer_

 _Voiced by Guy Cihi_

 _Age: 28_

 _Height: 6'0"_

 _Appearance: Take Tamaki Suoh and give him a five o'clock shadow with jade colored eyes, forest green button up shirt, black steampunk trench coat, black business casual pants, light brown leather boots (boots have a leg cover that can be belted together, look for steampunk pirate boots, you'll eventually come across them)_

 _Weapon: Captain Drake's cutlass_

 _Mary Read Mercer_

 _Voiced by Monica Taylor Horgan_

 _Age: 27_

 _Height: 5'9"_

 _Appearance: take Monika (just Monika), dye her hair raspberry red, give her azure blue contacts, ditch the bow and replace it with a blue ribbon, her outfit is a Florentine crimson recolor of Legolas's outfit (ditch the cape on this one), Thieves guild boots_

 _Weapon: Black dragon naginata_

6 years ago...

My father often spoke of the history of Grimm, Hunters, Dust, and Remnant. Told us grand stories of heroes and heroines battling monsters for the protection of the weak. My father was one of these Hunters, as was my mother. My sister and I are descendants of the Read and Kidd families. I take more after my father and was named Edward P.T Mercer, seems after multiple generations, Kidd was dropped and used more as a title, perhaps to express more individuality. I'm not really sure.

"Edward! Go get your sister, breakfast is ready!" Mother called from downstairs.

I could smell garlic and toasted bread, Mom puts garlic in my omelettes, served a better alternative to just eating them whole.

I snapped out of my train of thought and walked to my sisters room. Her room was right next to mine, both the same size, same shape, but different color of different shades of green and magenta. We like pastel colors, it's easy to paint with.

"Megan, you still still asleep?" I asked after rapping against the door.

Grumbling was heard on the other side before the door slowly creaked open.

"Good morning, Ed." Megan mumbled before walking downstairs.

Maybe I shouldn't have sent her that video of the internet's most loved cyberbully. She probably spent the entire night trying not to wake everybody up. Breakfast went rather well, Dad retold a joke that he heard from one of his friends yesterday. Mom was the only one who laughed, as usual. Omelettes are amazing, paired with braid strudels and bacon, perfection.

"So, Edward, Megan, I have something spectacular planned for today." Father said after clinking his glass.

Megan and I beamed like solar rays, and we already knew what he had in store. Before anyone said anything else, we darted upstairs and grabbed our weapons, me with a katana/machete and Megan with a short spear.

"Well, someone's eager!" Mother exclaimed before finishing her orange juice.

Mom and Dad went to get their weapons before heading out. Our backyard leads into a heavily forested area that ends in a laser-grid electric fence. That doesn't stop the Grimm from coming in anyway, especially since some are just as tall as the fence and can just jump over it. You failed miserably, city engineers, you guys had one job!

Anyway, father lead us deeper and deeper into the woods. That's what we get for living in the Easternmost part of Vale. At least the food's good.

"Now, who can tell me what we are hunting today?"

"Ursa's, maybe some Nevermore's." Megan chimed in.

"I'm hoping for a Death Stalker!" I gleefully shouted.

Father smiled at me while mother pulled on my ear.

"Edward, you shouldn't try to be reckless!"

Megan snickered a bit, after making a mental note to loosen the pipes in the sink later, we headed deeper into the forest. In due time, we reached a cave, the smell of dried blood hung thickly in the air.

"Be careful, this isn't your run of the mill Grimm." Father said.

"How many are in there?" Megan asked.

"Maybe four, one for each of us." Mom chuckled darkly before twirling her spear.

The side of mother I've rarely seen before, she seems like a different person whenever she leaves the house. Honestly, it scares me a bit.

Apparently, there was only one Grimm inside, and it definitely wasn't an Ursa. It was a battle to remember, but at a cost.

There was blood everywhere, the beast was seven feet tall, covered with an inky black aura and blood red bandages. It's eyes were pure red, and in them were the lives it has claimed.

All I remember from that day are two things, one, I gained my semblance, which I used to kill the monster, two, my mother died when I finally snapped out of my power craze.

~ The present

You get used to the nightmares after a few years, slowly, they start to fade, but the trauma remains. Father and Megan kept telling me that the Grimm in the cave killed mom and I somehow managed to fend it off, even gaining my Semblance in the process, Berserker armor, as they called it. What it does is coat my body in black and green flames while shutting off my nervous system, making me completely numb to any pain. However, as a drawback, it doesn't exactly protect me, it just keeps me together by putting bones back in place by tearing and moving my muscles around. I have since gained an addiction to orange juice so I don't die from blood loss. Aside from mental trauma and losing my mother, a long scar crossed horizontally over my right eye, not deep enough to cause blindness, but enough so it's easily visible.

Now, I'm walking the partly empty streets of Vale, bored out of my mind, and looking for some action. My coat sways gently in the breeze, the sounds of the flapping cloth soothe my ears in comparison to the almost deafening silence. There are some people talking, nothing I can get involved in, so I just keep my headphones on and mind my own business. With a simple acoustic in my ears, my eyes focus on the ground. Lights dance across the rain soaked asphalt.

BGM: Summer (2011) - Rob Scallon

"I need to get somewhere dry..." I mumbled.

A nearby convenience store provided the kind of shelter I needed. There were a few people inside, didn't pay them any mind. I had some spare Lien coins in my pocket, left the card at home. After making a decision, I snagged a bag of beef jerky and chocolate milk. After paying for my late night snack, I found a corner to sit in and enjoy my delectables. Then these dipshits in baggy clothes walk in, talking a weird spider language with repeated use of words like 'muthafucka', 'homedawg', and some word starting with a 'N' that made my mouth feel like sandpaper.

"Hey, look'it this dope." One of them said.

I look up from my scroll and see that they have me cornered, jokes on them, cornered rat will bite the cat.

"Can I help you?" I ask.

"See, we don't like it when people muscle in our space, aight? So do us a favor and screw off." One in a shiny jacket and beanie said.

I pocket my scroll and crack my neck, they act all surprised.

"Necks a little stiff, staring at this article for too long." I explain.

"Did we ask you?" The supposed leader bellowed.

"No, but I'm clearing up the confusion."

They laugh between themselves, these idiots think they have the upper hand. I guess I'll just have to put them in their place.

"Well, we don't take kindly to that kind of attitude. People tend to get shanked."

I raised a eyebrow and chuckle, causing their leader to blush. Looking at the door, I motion them to follow. The very attosecond the last guy leaves the store, I take a strange piece of metal from my coat.

"And what're gonna do with that?" The leader says.

"Play..." I mumble.

Without provocation, I spin the hilt and a blade folds out.

"Showtime."

All of them rushed me, with a quick motion, I blocked the first swing of a nailbat, then forced nailbat into a swing from a tire iron. The third guy threw a punch that I easily dodged, giving me the chance to kick him in the groin. The rest of them continued the 'let's run at him like idiots' strategy, I incapacitated them with a single swing of the sword. Barely worth my time.

"Aw, can't take a few more hits? You make me sad…" I mockingly say.

"Thank you." The shopkeeper said, looking upon the pain strewn about.

"That's not the last of them, is it?" I ask.

"I'm sorry to say, but this won't be the last of The Snippers."

"Excuse me?" I ask.

"The Snippers, a gang led by a truly sadistic man, Sweeney Barrows." The man pulls a cigarette from his pocket and lights it. "Barrows is known as a scissorman, a warrior using a pair of large sheers in combat."

The shopkeeper shook his head, instead of feeling worried, I smiled wide. I don't need to head home yet, and I can make some cash in the process, win-win scenario. Okay then, new target, find this Mr. Barrows and I'll be able to eat my midnight snacks in peace. I have heard that a mysterious barber works near an old factory not too far from here, and a lot of people have disappeared around that area. While it's not in my usual interest, I can't ignore something that is effecting this many people. Without another word, I swiftly vanish into the wind, ready to deliver some justice. Hopefully, this barber is Sweeney Barrows, it'd make my job easier.

"Wait 'till they get a load of me..." I chuckled to myself, stalking through the cramped alleyways until I find myself in front of the old factory.

Let's take a silent approach, shall we? After picking the lock, I carefully tip toe my way into the complex. At least this is easier than wearing my socks over my boots, that'd be messy.

"If my knowledge of film is correct, and usually it is, this would be where the villain knocks out the protagonist with a blow to the back of head and ties them to chair, right?" I say to myself.

"Right..." A raspy voice answers.

"Thank you! Wait…" Before I could question, a blunt pain spread across the back of my skull, causing me to fall to the floor. Before everything went black, I could see a nice pair of boots coming towards me.

(Sweeney Barrows is voiced by David Near's Wilson)

When I came to, I found myself strapped to a chair. Oh, the bloody irony.

"Now, you're going to tell me why you came looking for me." A raspy voice said.

"Sure, undo the straps and I'll give you a loooong explanation." I smirked at the man.

He was a few inches taller than me, looked as if he had a complicated relationship with his hair dresser. Wore what looked like a mix of gothic and ritzy clothes, a wide sleeved white shirt, blood red cravat, black vest adorned with silver details, dark brown leather pants, knee high leather boots, and bandages wrapped around his hands.

"What, missed your late night screening of Rocky Horror?" I joked.

He reached for a wooden paddle and smacked me across the face with it, blood flew from my mouth, healing almost immediately with my aura.

"Let's see how silver your tongue is when I tear it from your throat." Sweeney said as he reached for a pair of scissors.

"Kill me if I'm wrong, but you've probably suffered some kind of loss in your life and are now seeking revenge. Am I close? Tell me I'm close!" I shout ecstatically.

Sweeney turned to me, a look of worry on his face. I must've touched a nerve.

"Spot on, you must've suffered a similar torment?" He asked.

"If I have, I don't remember it clearly. But my mother was killed by a Grimm when I was nine. Oh, the things I wouldn't give just to mount that things head on my wall."

"My wife and daughter, they were killed by a gang of rabid Faunas, I've tracked down and killed most of them. But there are two that I'm still missing."

It seems as if we could truly understand each other, we have experienced a very specific kind of pain. Unfortunately for Mr. Barrows, I've already decided on which method to escape.

BGM: Feel good inc. - Leo Moracchioli

I feel myself getting angry, and when I get angry, I appear as if I'm on fire. My semblance helps me ignore the skin tearing and burns, my aura will fix that later. While our Mr. Barrows is staring in disbelief, I laugh maniacally.

"In all honesty, you should've seen this coming." I say as I reach for my sword.

"What the hell are you?! I've never seen a semblance like that!" Sweeney demands.

"Your worst fucking nightmare." I deadpan before laughing.

I dart forward with a swing in tow, only to be blocked by a large pair of shears. Swiftly, I swing my sword upwards to break Sweeney's defense. He lurches back and dodges my next swing, he then closes his shears and fires at me with the attached machine guns.

"Damn, that's not fair! I don't have a machine gun!" I shout in childish manner.

"Sit still and you won't have to worry!" Sweeney states.

Darting to the right, I manage to avoid the bullets. Though I do get hit by a couple, my semblance keeps me from feeling where they hit. I stumbled a bit before launching myself into a more secure section of the factory.

"If it's a gunfight you want, then I'll be happy to oblige!" I shout before cracking off a few shots at Barrows.

He unloads lead in my direction, spraying in hopes that maybe a bullet will go through a wall and into my brain. We continue our back and forth before both of our weapons start clicking. Out of ammo.

"Uh oh." We say in unison before rushing at each other.

The sound of metal clashing and sliding across each other passed through the air in an almost sexual manner, I'm getting hot just by thinking about it. Sparks fly and blood drops to floor, making a satisfying splat as it hits the floor.

First, my blade is caught in between his scissors, both pieces of steel grinding against each other with the kind of enthusiasm that should only be reserved for the bedroom. I then slide the blade away and leave a deep cut in Barrow's chest, causing a deep crimson to fill his shirt.

"Stings, doesn't it?" I taunt.

"Not as much as this'll hurt you."

Ah, comedic retorts, a close favorite to one liners. We traded a few more blows, then I realized how tired I was getting. I had to swing like a drunk just to stay upright. Eventually, I ended up getting stabbed. Crimson came out with every cough.

"I would've let you live, you know. But you had to start swinging that sword around." Barrows said.

My vision darkens again, it's taking too long for my semblance to cool off. But then it does, and I start laughing again.

"You idiot, you've just made the biggest mistake of your life." I growl.

I put my hands in between the blades and pushed them out, ignoring the cuts. Then I yank the scissors from his hands.

"Mine now!"

Then, in a violent fashion, I plunged the scissors into Sweeney's chest. He gurgled and coughed a pint of blood. With the grace of a stoned octopus, I lift Sweeney up and pin him into the ground.

"Play time's over."

Sweeney gurgled as he struggled to breathe with the massive holes in his lungs. Only making a few squeaks before managing to form words again.

"Wait... Wait..." He choked.

"Didn't I just kill you?" I ask coldly.

"I have one request... just one favor, before I die."

"Seriously, I stabbed you through the lungs!"

"Just shut up! I have a name for you." Sweeney said.

I shut my mouth, eager to learn of this name.

"The two faunas I was searching for, they are members of the White Fang. The first is their leader, Adam Taurus. The second is a girl in black, wielding a sword attached to a wire."

White Fang, the faunas terrorist organization that seeks the destruction of all things man? The very same, I thought, why would such a large group single out this one family? They usually focus on property destruction and mass killings. Wrong place at the wrong time, methinks.

"You wish these people death?" I ask.

Sweeney gave me a small grin before leaning his head back.

"It's funny, because I didn't expect the man who'd kill me to be the one to avenge me. If I had a son, I'd like for him to be like you. I can tell, despite the ferocity, you have a very big heart, even with the pain you have endured."

And with that, Sweeney Barrows died. Killed by his own weapon, only to pass his goal onto his killer. I've never been a sentimental type, especially for those outside of my family, but I felt genuinely sad for this man.

"The darkness isn't to be feared, but embraced. Only by walking its path, you will know true serenity. Rest in peace." I whisper as I close Sweeney's lifeless eyes.

"Yes yes, bloody tragic." A haughty voice says behind me.

I whip myself around and see two figures. One is tall and lanky, wearing a white suit, black pants and shoes, orange fringe hiding one of his green eyes, topped with a bowler hat, in his hand is a cane. Next to him is a shorter woman wearing colors that consisted of nothing else but pink, brown, and beige, really making me crave a bowl of Neapolitan ice cream for some reason.

"Very impressive, young man. Simply amazing. I've never seen a fight so brutal!" He said.

"I'm sorry, mind telling me who's fashion vlog I'm interrupting?"

The man stood back dramatically, placing his hand over his chest. "Oh, that's right. We haven't introduced ourselves. I'm Roman Torchwick, and the lovely woman here is Neo."

The girl smiled and gave a passive-aggressive wave. I'm guessing that she's a mute. A dangerous, mute lunatic.

"Okay, I know the who, and not the why." I kept the grip on my sword tight.

"I simply wanted to introduce myself, and wanted to ask if you were interested in a job I may or may not have for you."

I looked at Sweeney's body, then back at Torchwick. I know his type, gangster wannabe. Heard he was responsible for several accounts of arson and theft. Now, I like want and destruction as much as the next guy, but only in a fantasy sense. Him? He's just immoral.

"Yeah, I'm gonna have to say no." I blunty answer.

"Ah, a shame. But seeing how tired you are, I'll allow you get away. Just consider my offer, I'll tell you this much, it pertains to a Wraith."

That certainly caught my attention, but when I looked back, they were already gone.

"This day..." I say as I kicked away a can, "Just keeps getting better and better."

As I approached the door to my home, I thought about what Torchwick said, if he really knew where that thing is. How can I trust his word, can I trust his word? How do I know that he won't just put a cap in my head?

Megan sat outside, wearing her magenta hoodie and brown shorts.

"Why are you out here?" I asked.

"Dad received some visitors, he said not to come back in until you've come back." She said.

"Then let's not keep them waiting." I say as I pat Megan's shoulder.

(Seuss Kaufmann is voiced by Michael McConnohie)

As we enter, I took note of the conversation that father was having with his guest.

"I know that it's been hard for you James, but they need education beyond family secrets. I'm sure that they'd excel beyond their peers."

"Yes, I've heard this before. But I don't want to let them go, I love them too much."

"Take it from me, even though I'm not much of a fighter, Edward and Megan need to expand their battle prowess, especially since..."

"Don't say another word, Seuss."

I look through a crack in the door, inside the living room are my father, a man with silver hair in a dark green suit, and a slightly older man who looks like a typical armchair psychologist.

"I think we have more visitors." Dad said.

I slowly open the door, Megan at my right. The three men stare at us before the man in the dark green suit stands up and extends.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Edward Mercer."

I reluctantly shake his hand before he takes a sip from his travel mug.

"I am-" He says before I cut him off.

"Yeah, Ozzy Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon. I'm well aware." I rudely said before leaning against the wall.

Ozpin and the psychologist look at each other before the psychologist stands up.

"Edward, my name is Seuss Kaufmann. I've been helping you father for the last few years." He says. "He has spoken highly of you and your sister, so... I'll let Ozpin explain."

"Edward P.T Mercer and Megan Bailey Mercer, I am here to personally invite you to learn at my academy. You'll need more than just a few tricks to become a fully fledged hunter."

Megan and I look at each other and ponder the idea for a moment. While my semblance makes me sort of invincible, it doesn't do much in the way of actually keeping me alive, a well placed shot could take me down. This whole 'huntsman' thing will require more skill and finese over the 'tank all the hits and dish it out twice as hard' method, one that I have been using for years. But, you know what they say, you're never too young to learn new techniques.

"We accept." Megan and I say in unison.

Ozpin and Kaufmann smile, while father keeps his eyes towards the floor.

"Well, I'll just get the paperwork settled. It'll be two months before the academy will open it's doors." Ozpin said before picking himself up and leaving.

Kaufmann and Dad talked for a solid hour before he left, that leaves the people who actually live here. Dad went into the kitchen to get a glass of water, I went to refill my OJ canteen.

"Edward?" Dad began, "Are you sure this is what you want?"

I looked at him like he was the biggest idiot on Remnant. Man, the last few years were not kind to you. Your hair is greasy, the stubble on your face is darker, bags under your eyes.

"Of course, Ozpin said so himself, we can't survive out there with limited training and family secrets. You know this already."

Dad looked at the floor again, he chuckled and smiled. I think this is the first time I've seen him smile since mom died.

"You were always smart for your age, most kids only focus on having the most friends or the newest thing. You are dedicated, efficient, you worry about other people. I heard from Oz that you single handedly took down a group of thugs and a trained murderer." Dad said, nothing but pride for his son in his voice.

While making dad happy made me all kinds of warm, I wondered how Ozpin made it here in order to tell dad what happened before I did. Normally I come back from 'work', covered in blood, and no one asked me what happened or who hurt me. I was fine with that set up, but now? Now, I want dad to be proud of me, a warrior that he can look at and think, 'he has earned this, he's trained night and day to become what I knew he could be, not just a huntsman, but a hero'.

"Well, it's been a long night, we should hit the hay for now." He said, patting me on the back.

I crept downstairs into the basement, after mom's death, I moved everything from my room into here and turned it into a makeshift workshop. It was here where I took my great grandfather's old sword and remade it into the sexy beast it is now. My eyes spy the blade as I pulled it from my coat, it looked so beautiful, shimmering in crimson, shame that it can't be my own. But nonetheless, I take a cold wet cloth and scrub away the drying blood. Soon, it regains it's heavenly silver sheen.

"Goodnight, Vale. In a few months time, I'm going to be a real huntsman, just you wait."

My name is Edward Phineas Taylor Mercer, and this is the story of how I became a huntsman.

* * *

Yes, that ending is a Hamilton moment, thank you for noticing


	2. M

Edward's been in a good mood recently, not something I see everyday. In all honesty, I still feel like I should tell him. Tell him what really happened that day, but I'm certain that the truth would destroy him. Today was a rather sad day, the sixth anniversary of our mother's death. Edward usually sulked around, but now that we're heading to Beacon in a week, he's been acting a little nicer as of late.

"Megan, if I had two pounds of turkey, five loafs of that herb and cheese soda bread from Mike's, and a assortment of condiments, how many sandwiches could I make?" He asked.

"I'd say about... nine sandwiches before you run out of meat." I answer.

He smiled and scratched that thought down in his notepad.

"How did I get lucky enough to have you as a sister?" He jokes.

"Because we had the same-" I realized what I was saying and promptly shut up.

I shouldn't mention mom today, Dad and Edward already payed their respects last week. Guess they don't want to keep tormenting themselves with this date. I haven't, though, so I get my things together and head out. In the years since mom's death, Edward has gotten a little... creative. Not only did he manage to take grandpa's old sword and make a pretty cool collapsible pistol sword out of it, he also managed to make me a makeshift flamethrower out of a propane tank, gas pump, shower nozzle, and a lawnmower blade. Unfortunately, I lost it somewhere and had a mechanic make me a similar weapon, cost me every cent I had, but it was worth it. Now, I know what you're thinking, "Why didn't you just ask Edward to make you another one?"

Well, it's not that simple, Edward is what you'd call... emotionally unstable. If he makes something for someone, he expects you to take damn good care of it. If not, we never hear from those people, usually they move because Edward will stalk them.

"I'll be heading out!" I shouted.

"Take the spear with you." Dad said, barely looking up from his coffee.

"I already grabbed it." I reply.

Dad takes a couple of glances at me before returning his attention to the paper. As I made my way to the cemetery, I stopped to pick the flowers from the backyard. The magenta snapdragons that she loved so much, now being used to adorn her grave, it'd be funny if it wasn't so grim.

"How've you been, mom? I've been doing a lot better, I've started studying again and Edward somehow got us enrolled into Beacon." I mumbled to myself as I walked to the cemetery.

The walk here has gotten harder for each year that passes, like a larger weight gets placed on my back.

"We've gotten better at fighting, Edward took on an entire gang and a trained killer immediately after. But..." I stopped in front of the tombstone and placed down the flowers.

A man walked beside me, he had shaggy black hair, noticeable stubble, and wore a white and grey shirt, black pants and shoes, and a torn crimson cape.

"Damn shame..." He said in a husky voice.

"What is?" I asked.

"I knew her, back when we still had to go to Beacon... Well, I don't think she went."

"Who are you?" The man pulled a flask from his pocket and took a sip.

"A friend of your mom's, I already gave my respects last week. Tell your brother that I wish him good luck." He left after saying that.

I found a bench and pondered to myself. What would Beacon be like? Is it really as good as they say? Would Edward do well? Would I do well?

All of this was cut short by the appearance of several people in suits, lead by a man with orange hair, white blazer, and black bowler hat. Along with a woman wearing neapolitan colors.

"Ah, you must be the sister... Megan, right?" The man in white asked.

"What's it to you?" I replied, standing up and keeping a hand close to the boxed up spear.

"I was sincerely hoping to see Edward again, but this seems to be my lucky day. You're just the leverage I need." He snapped his fingers and the men behind him raised stun batons and stun guns. "Come quietly, or we will use force."

BGM: Audrey, start the Revolution! - Anberlin

I spun my spear out and darted forward, bashing four people in the face with a well timed swing. One tried to swing at me as a matter of distraction, another shot in my direction. On reflex, I lifted my hand and a pale pink cone appeared over it, eventually cloaking my body. The electric bolt bounced off the shield like a rubber ball, but the shield cracked a little.

"Gang up!" They shouted.

They attacked without mercy, the shield persisted, however. But with the rate that they are attacking, it won't last long.

"Not lookin' so good, but you've got this."

Rusty...?

The shield spontaneously grew in size, pushing back the ones attacking. Some of them fled, others just stood in awe. They were swiftly handled.

"Damn, what to I even pay them for?!" The man in the bowler hat yelled, he then pulled a two way transceiver from his pocket. "Release the hounds!"

Two helicopters flew in, dropping two cages on the ground, smashing several tombstones. Fortunately, mothers was left intact.

"I'm so sorry, but we can't stay and play for long! But we will meet again, I promise you that!" He shouted as he and the ice cream lady grabbed a rope ladder together and flew off.

"And I'll be waiting." I smirked.

The cages opened, and out of the darkness came two Beowolves.

"Show me what you got."

The Beowolves rushed, I leapt back and spun the lance over my head, folding it into a rifle. Quickly, I fired four shots between the two and dashed away.

"If I'm not fast enough, I'll get skewered! Keep your distance Megan, keep your distance!"

According to those books our family kept on different types of Grimm. Beowolves are easy to fall prey to if you're not careful, and they have an exceptional defense against bullets.

"Fall down!" I demanded as I unloaded hot lead right into their skulls.

The bullets struck with enough impact to cause the Beowolves to flip back at least three times. I stood up, drew a deep breath, and headed home.

"Who were those guys?" I asked to myself, the guy in the bowler hat mentioned Edward, so I should talk to him about it.

As soon as I walked through the door and Edward came to greet me, I grabbed him by his jacket lapels and dragged him to the basement.

"Woah, Megan! You okay?" He asked.

"First, I went to mothers grave to pay some respect. Then some drunk guy shows up, gives my a whole bunch of nonsense. Then some jackasses in suit show up and attack me, bring you up for some reason, and mention a job they had for you. What the fuck is going on, Edward?!" I yelled.

"Roman was there?" He questioned.

"Oh, so you know him?!"

"I don't! Remember when I told you about Sweeney?"

I nodded.

"After he died, Roman and that chick in Neapolitan colors... They offered me a job, they never said what they wanted me to do, I guess I had to take it first. But they mentioned mom and..."

"And what?"

Edward stood quiet for a bit before looking up, his eyes widened and his mouth started trembling.

"The wraith."

I already knew that just thinking about it causes Edward to start freaking out. So my sisterly instincts kick in and I hug him, he admits the memory is a little fuzzy, but he's suffering every night because of the nightmares. Sometimes he says that he sees himself killing mom, and I have to reassure him.

'Either you'll find out what happened, or I'll have to tell you, and I hope to Oum and Duquette that I won't have to.'

My name is Megan Bailey Mercer, and this is the story of a dead man


	3. R

_Walter Hugh Hellsing_

 _Voiced by Crispin Freeman_

 _Appearance: Shaggy dark brown hair, orange eyes, facial hair like Robert Downey Jr, wears a long red peacoat over a white button up shirt, black pants, brown riding boots_

 _Height: 6'5"_

 _Weapon: Silver axe (Fire Emblem Fates) crossed with a lever action shotgun_

 _Rodrigo Alighieri Hellsing_

 _Voiced by Takahata101_

 _Appearance: Similar to his brother, but trades the beard for sideburns, wears a dark maroon suit, black undershirt, black pants, and black leather shoes_

 _Weapon: Katana and revolver gunsword_

The Hellsing family, one of the oldest family's of huntsmen and huntresses. This family has been recorded as the first to fight against the Grimm, and they've been doing a pretty good job of that for the past thousands of years. That leaves us at the youngest generation... me.

Yeah, you'd think that a family with the name 'Hellsing' would go around in trench coats and big hats, right? Well, I'm trying to invoke a new fashion statement, with leather jackets and cowboy boots.

But wait, am I here to tell a story, or talk about fashion choices?

Let me start at the most pivotal moment in my life. The Hellsing manor in located in the westernmost part of Vale, just a boat trip between us and Vacuo. I was taking a walk through the woods, trying to clear my head. See, my father wants me to eventually take over the family business, as his only son, it's expected. But here's the thing, I've barely received any training on... anything, I barely know how to swing a sword, much less command a dynasty. Fortunately for me, my uncle had recently been training me in secret, even crafted me a pair of quad barreled shotguns with axe blades. Thank Oum for being ambidextrous.

"Renaldo, tell me what is best in life!" He demands.

"To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women!" I replied.

"Wow, I was gonna say a day at the beach... And what was that you said about maiming, sweet lord."

We both laughed, it was common for us to joke like this, despite how offensive it might've been. I guess that's how it'll be.

So that brings me to today... my father called me to his office, apparently he's aware of Uncle Rodrigo's training sessions. However, he's rather indifferent to it.

"But that isn't the reason why I called you here. I want to announce the one who will inherit the chair of Head Hellsing."

Okay, I may have lied when I may have hinted that I was the only heir to the family, my cousins and uncles also were trying to get their hands on the seat. Some wanted good things, some were only in it for the money. Like I said, I didn't really know much, but I have my ideals on how to run this family. But it's hopeful optimism, and optimism can get some good brownie points, but they aren't well when it comes to running a business.

"Brother, are you sure about this?! I mean, Renaldo is still a child, how can you expect him to-?!"

"Do you really want to question my judgement, Rodrigo?" Father said in a stern voice, his face close to uncles.

Rodrigo stood silent before taking a step back.

"Renaldo, from this day forward, you are now the head of the Hellsing family."

The room suddenly came to an abrupt silence, then erupted into a rigorous applause. Like this wasn't expect-

"You chose wrong... Brother!"

Suddenly, the loud bang of gunpowder filled the air. Rodirigo had a gun trained on my father and I. Time seemed to slow as his grin widened, whatever trust we had with disappeared almost instantly, as Rodrigo's eyes were filled with nothing but contempt and jealousy.

"Rodrigo, stop!" Father demanded.

"Shut up! You knew this would happen from the start, our father always treasured his precious Walter, all I ever got from him was a sore cheek!"

BGM: Danger Zone - Jonathan Young

Without thinking, I rush at my uncle, knocking him over and out of a nearby window. While we're falling, I grab my hatchets from their holsters and swing at Rodrigo, putting a little distance between us. When we landed, we immediately dashed towards each other, our blades locking and leaving a trail of sparks.

"Come on, Renaldo, do you really expect to beat me? I taught you everything I know!" Rodrigo taunts.

"Never know, I like to think I'm full of surprises!" I snarl.

I pull the triggers on my hatchets, making Rodrigo jump back in surprise. He takes aim and empties the whole cylinder trying to hit me, but I dodge quickly and fire straight back. We lock eyes for a second before unleashing a hailstorm of bullets and buckshot at each other. Somehow, I could see his bullets... I know that sounds absolutely retarded, but hear me out. It's like time seemed to slow around me, that or my brain released a large amount of morphine and gave me a more visual way of saying 'it's easier to dodge shit now'.

After that revelation, we went back to having a swing at each other. But I wasn't doing much swinging and doing more dodging. Rodrigo feints a swing to the left, leaving an oozing wound.

"I won't let you take my place! That position is mine!" Rodrigo shouted in between growls.

"Guess you don't want it that badly... If you can't kill me, that is." I snarled before grabbing his arm and tossing him ten feet across the sand.

I cracked my knuckles and proceeded to pummel Rodrigo. At least five teeth flew from his mouth as I did so. After three minutes of this, I grabbed my hatchet from its holster and jammed it into his face, Rodrigo dropped his sword and collapsed again, shivering wildly.

"Please don't! I promise, you'll never hear from me ever again! Just let me live, I'm so sorry!"

"You're sick, Rodrigo. The only cure for you... is me."

With that, I spread Rodrigo's brain across the sand. After a second of self reflection, I turned around and head straight back to my father.

"As you saw, he's learned so much in only four months! Why won't you enroll him?" A voice said, muffled by the doors to the main office.

"Because he needs to remain here, he has just been appointed as the head of the family."

I opened the door violently, inside the room with my father is a man with light grey hair in dark spectacles, a dark green suit, and a thermos of what I assume to be coffee.

"You must be Renaldo, amazing work you did." The man in the green suit commented.

"And you are?" I asked, grip on my hatchets tightening.

"My name is Ozpin, I am the headmaster of Beacon Academy and I was hoping to convince your father to-"

"He will not!" My father shouted, "He is to serve as the head of this family, and that is final!"

"And how do you expect me to run the business, father?! I have no leadership skills and all I seem to be good at is violence, so why not let me learn from him?!" I yelled in retaliation.

Father stared at me for a long, uncomfortable while before letting out a deep sigh and shaking his head.

"No, you're right, the both of you. Renaldo, I know that I never put in the time to train you properly. But I think it would be best to go to that academy, you've already exhausted yourself on our resources, I can continue running the family until you return. I want you to study hard, and earn your place as a Hellsing, understood?"

I smiled at my father before heading outside with Ozpin, apparently someone contacted the local authorities to pick up Rodrigo's body.

"You killed him, didn't you?" Ozpin asked.

"I had no other choice, he was clearly insane and had to be put down." I replied.

Ozpin looked at me with a blank expression before taking a sip from his thermos and adjusting his glasses.

"I had taken the Hellsing family as being to prideful for their own good. It seems that you are the first to prove my assumption wrong."

After that, I packed my bags and moved to the central part of Vale, all I had to do was wait until the classes actually started, then I'd be able to earn my keep.

Just you wait, father, I'll prove that I have what it takes to be a Hellsing.

My name is Renaldo Bram Hellsing, and this is the story about when melancholy met motion

 **Sorry for this chapter being a little short, but I've procrastinated enough on Renaldo's introduction and need to hurry up and finish these trailer chapters, the next one is Laurent Jekyll Holmes, see you guys then!**


	4. L

_Wesley Conan Doyle Holmes_

 _Voiced by J. Michael Tatum_

 _Appearance: Slicked back black hair, lavender eyes, usually wears a black suit and glasses_

 _Height: 5'11"_

 _Weapon: Cup hilt rapier that turns into a revolver_

 _Martha Bathory Holmes_

 _Voiced by DeadJosey_

 _Appearance: Imagine Mary from Ib, but in her mid thirties, silver hair, with grey eyes, and dressed in navy_

 _Height: 5'7"_

The Holmes family has been a vital part of the law enforcement system in Remnant for centuries, existing long before any of the major hunting family's. The first, Arthur, was an esteemed detective who's philosophies of criminal law are still used to this very day.

But I'm not here for a history lesson...

 _Ten years ago_

My father was close friends with the head of the Schnee Dust Corporation, Jacques Schnee, ever since they were young. I got along with his children well enough, especially his youngest daughter, Weiss. Though it was more of a crush than anything, we're good friends and all, but it's wishful thinking if she'd go for someone like me.

"Now, Laurent, dad has to go to an important meeting, I need you to be on your best behavior." Father would often say.

"I already know, we've done this several times already!" I whined, all I wanted was to play with Weiss.

As we entered the large estate, we were immediately greeted by Weiss' older sister, Winter, greeted us and pointed me to Weiss' room. I get the feeling that she is aware of how I feel, but she doesn't stop me from seeing her sister. Maybe it's because Winter won't try to stand in the way of her sister's happiness, regardless of financial standing. That's not to say that my family is poor, however, thanks to our constant service in law enforcement, we have accumulated a dragon's hoard of our own. But we are like a lake compared to the tidal storm of wealth held by the Schnee's. Still, no begrudging. I make my way to Weiss' bedroom, whilst making a mental note to tilt every painting on the way. When I entered her room, Weiss immediately tackled me to the floor.

"H-hey, Weiss..." I stammer.

"Apologize." She bluntly stated.

"Sorry for making you wait so long." I reply.

Weiss gets off of me and pulls me up, she smiles warmly at me.

"I missed you, Laurent." She whispered, diving into my chest and hugging me tightly.

"I missed you too." I replied, hugging her back.

After a moment, we separate and she takes me by the hand, leading me to the center of the room.

"So, what are we doing today?" I asked.

"Have you ever gone hiking before?" She answered my question with question.

I shook my head, Weiss's smile spread wider. She takes my hand and leads me outside. I doubt she intends to go far, maybe just a short walk inside of the woods. Sure enough, that's exactly what we do. Weiss packs a small bag of water bottles and granola bars, and afterwards we set off to parts unknown. With my hand in hers, Weiss' youthful fear replaced with comfort as our fingers intertwined.

"Are you sure that you want to do this? You could get hurt..." I asked.

"I'm sure! I'm not as delicate as I appear, Laurent." She pouted cutely as I give her a light smile.

We walked forward for a while, noting a stream and a clearing in the trees that sort of resembled a heart, Weiss blushed at that one. Eventually we took a seat under a large tree, where Weiss laid her head against my shoulder as I stared through the trees and towards the sky.

It's been seven years since that day, my father and Jacques Schnee had a falling out a while ago. Maybe it's for the best, my attraction to Weiss was just puppy love, after all.

"... urent... Laurent!"

My eyes widened as my mother shouted my name, I straightened my posture and she placed a few papers in front of me.

"Your father told me to give you these, said that you need to study today."

I rolled my eyes, I have long ago stopped caring about upholding the family legacy, only wishing to carve my own path as a huntsman. Being a member of law enforcement is great and all, but I'd rather have a more immediate affect of the world than be late to stop someone from getting killed. My eyes narrow over the paper and I cock my eyebrow. These papers seem to detail a meeting of gangsters in an old power plant, tonight! Looks like father wants me to take care of this, he'd surround the building with police, all I'd have to do is crash the party, but that isn't for another few hours.

"Better put on my best suit..." I joked.

Night soon came, in my Saturday best, I sat beside my father in the police cruiser. He had a look of worry on his face, understandably. I'd be heading into a room with at least two dozen armed gunmen alone. The vicinity would at least be covered by law enforcement.

"Laurent, you don't have to do this." Father says, trying his hardest to keep his voice from shaking.

I smile comfortingly at him, he's got nothing to worry about. I'll do just fine. The cruiser stops twenty feet in front of the warehouse, where the party is. There is no one else here, so I get to have all of the fun. Stepping out of the car, I make my way up some scaffolding and jump to the roof of the warehouse. After carefully opening one of the skylights, I take a peak in and listen.

(Boss Silverclaw is voiced by David Zayas, looks like him too)

"Alright, boys! After tonight, the Silverclaw clan will own Atlas! Not even the military force of the Schnee company can stop us!" The fat man at the front of the table shouted, raising a glass of champagne into the air.

BGM: Victorious - Nathan Sharp

No, after tonight, you'll be spending the rest of your lives behind bars. I shot one of the windows open to get their attention, and dramatically dove to the table, landing in front of Boss Silverclaw.

"Hi." I simply put.

Everyone reached for their weapons and prepared to lunge. Little thing that they didn't know, I've got a secret weapon.

"Don't just stand there, you mooks! Kill him!"

I rolled off the table, one of the guys the didn't jump rushed at me with a shock baton. Before he could land a hit, I raised my gauntlet arm and fired a taser dart, incapacitating him. While the goons were dog piling nothing in particular, I made a run for the boss.

"You idiots, what the hell do I pay you for?! He's right there!"

Five of them got up and jumped from the table, batons upraised. I whipped out the fiber cord from my gauntlet, swinging it at the nearest goon and pulled him towards me, delivering a hard backhanded knock to the left side of his jaw.

"And shocked!" I shouted triumphantly.

Two of them tried to swing their swords down at me, reacting quickly, I shot out my fiber cord and wrapped it around the two blades. Then I leapt up and yanked them as hard as I could, pulling them upwards and smacking them into the ground.

"Hiding behind a gaggle of crooks, and here I thought that criminals were supposed to be harder than this."

"Sly son of a bitch, I'll kill you!" Silverclaw reached from a gun and fired a few shots, accidentally shooting a few of his men as I dove out of the way.

"Frankie!" He shouted, guess he has some compassion for his men after all.

"Put the gun down and there will be no more need for violence." I warned, pointing my gauntlet arm at Silverclaw.

"Okay then..." He said, slowly placing his gun on the ground.

Quickly, he tossed his gun at me and grabbed a sword from one of his men. Extending my cord a bit, I remove the blade at the end and block his attack.

"You oughta know something, I'm deceptively quick for a big guy!" He pushed his sword closer, the edge nearly scraping my face.

"I can see that!" I grunted.

I struck him with my palm, channeling my Semblance and becoming a human taser. As the electricity coursed through him, he let out a cry of anguish. After enough volts to the gut, he fell like a sack of bricks. I leaned back and drew a long sigh.

"Busted..." I groaned.

Feeling completely drained, I exited the building, where several officers were waiting for me.

"The ones that didn't shoot themselves are knocked out, you guys handle the rest." I said.

My father smiled at me proudly, I gave him a nonchalant grin in return. Feels good to be the hero.

"Told you." I said, before making my way back home.

For some reason, I just wanted to walk home. I thought about a few things, Weiss especially. Even after all of these years, my feelings for her never went away. I'm not saying that I'm obsessed, but I just want to see her again, at least once. My thoughts were interrupted when I walked into my home, and an unfamiliar voice called out.

"You must be Laurent. Have a seat, would you kindly?"

I looked up, a man with silver hair, dark spectacles, and a dark green suit sat in one of the recliners in the foyer. Before I could open my mouth, mother walks in.

"Laurent, this is Professor Ozpin, he says that he has a proposition for you."

I take a seat adjacent to him, he takes a sip from his thermos and begins to speak.

"I just so happened to be in the neighborhood when I heard about your brawl with Silverclaw and his goons. Nice work." He said.

"That's very kind of you, sir. But it was just the right thing to do, they've been giving my father a lot of trouble, and I'd rather they didn't." I reply.

"Modest, too. That's an admirable trait in a man. Do you know why I came here?" He asked.

"Honestly, sir, aside from the congratulations, I have no idea." I replied.

He sighed and stood up, taking another sip from his thermos.

"I run an academy in Vale, called Beacon. I would appreciate it if you considered enrolling."

After letting out a slight yawn, I raised an eyebrow.

"Why should I? I've already got things handled here."

"Yes, I'm aware of that. But it's clear to me that detective work isn't your priority. You enroll to Beacon, and you'll find what you truly desire."

I thought about it for a moment, what I truly desire.

"Is there a Weiss Schnee enrolling?" I asked.

"If I recall, there should be. Why, do you know her?"

I nodded my head, my father walked into the room and stared at Ozpin.

"Wesley." Ozpin stated.

"Oz." Father replied.

The two stared each other down, mother and I left the room. But we kept the door cracked open to listen in on their conversation.

"How long have you been persisting, Ozpin? I've already told you, I want my son to have nothing to do with the work of a Huntsman, it's too dangerous!"

"If I recall, didn't Laurent take down an entire crime syndicate, all by himself? I'd say that makes him more than welcome at my academy."

"Damn you! But your words aren't without truth. Laurent has grown into a respectable young man, he's capable, intelligent, but I can't imagine him getting hurt. I don't want my son to lose his life to your line of business."

"Wesley, you have my word that your son will not come to harm outside of his own volition."

Mother turned and smiled, patted me on the shoulder, and looked back at father. We step out and take a seat.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Father asked.

"Definitely, more than anything." I reply.

As the hours pass by, my gaze is shifted to the moon above me. The right side broken and floating away, seemingly after the gods of our world had a brief conflict, the reason why doesn't spring to mind. I couldn't help but think about Weiss, you'd think I'd get over her after all this time, but I still have feelings for her. It just boggles my mind.

"But I made I promise, and I do intend to keep it. I promise that we'll see each other again... Weiss."

My name is Laurent Jekyll Holmes, and this is the story about the greatest man I ever knew.

* * *

 **Alright! We're one step closer to making my job writing this mess a lot easier! Last one is David, and next stop, Beacon Academy!**


	5. D

_King Henry Louis Morgan XII_

 _Voiced by Kevin Roach (Look for Confessions of Fred Kruger)_

 _Appearance: Long grey hair, navy eyes, long soul patch, wears a blue version of the Psijic robes and short leather boots_

 _Height: 6'3"_

 _Weapon: King Sharaman's sword_

 _Eleven years ago_

It was just another day, dad talks with his advisors, the pups from his other wives playing with each other, and me. Completely bored out of my mind.

The name's David Isaac Morgan, oldest son of King Henry Louis Morgan XII. If the mention of pups earlier didn't tip you off, I'm a Faunus, wolf to be exact. Something that is surprisingly rare, I mean, there are coyotes, hyenas, dingos, but wolves are an oddity in the ecosystem. Guess I should count myself lucky, if you consider being chastised by most humans for having animal ears lucky. Yeah, for some reason, the Faunus are treated like garbage for extremely petty reasons, like our ears make us look weird or that we're no different than animals. Or for more paranoid reasons, like us having more powerful natural abilities meaning that we could dominate over humans, which we don't even care about. In fact, I think it's absolutely absurd that humans would be afraid of us.

"Today is moving awfully slow..." I mumbled to myself.

This is what I do when I'm bored out of my mind, contemplate human/Faunus relationships. Taking a few glances around, I get up from my spot and walk out the front door, dad's usually too busy with his 'spare ears' and the wives are busy looking after the pups to notice me, it wouldn't be the first time that I've snuck out. Sometimes I'll watch people in town, sometimes I'll get food, but today? I'm going to make a friend. We live somewhere in the business quarter of Vale, and I never went outside that boundary, until now. I'll make my way to the housing quarter, pick a random house, and watch.

"That one looks good."

I spotted one that looked a little old, but more in the respectable way rather than knock it down with a ton of TNT. After sneaking to the back, I look over the fence and see a boy around my age. He has dark blonde hair, a green shirt, and denim shorts. In his hand is a modestly large stick poking into something on the ground. I walk up to him and saw what he was poking at, a dead rabbit.

"I found him like that this morning." He said in an oddly calm voice.

"What do you think happened?" I asked.

"See those grey patches?" He points to a spot on the rabbit's neck, "I'm guessing old age, must've lived a good life to make it that long."

"Yeah."

We stood there for a moment before the boy turned to me, suddenly the cheeriest person in the world.

"I'm Edward, who are you? Are you a Faunus? You must be! I mean, you've got the ears and the tail..."

If only I knew what this would lead to in my friend's future.

 _Present_

Somehow, Edward and I were allowed to remain friends. Father treated it like it's the first step in making Faunus persecution a thing of the past, but it's nothing like that. He and I just got along really well, but we started seeing each other less and less, especially after his mom died. Now that we're fifteen, our connection is nonexistent at worst, and I kinda miss him.

"That thing is still out there, isn't it? If so, how do we kill it?"

I drew a long sigh, perhaps it's best if I don't think about it. Best case scenario, that thing is somewhere far away where it can't come back. Whatever. It's not a problem anymore, so why am I still calling attention to it? Anyway, I've been smelling trouble recently. There's been a support group for Faunus that tries to deal with their abuse at the hands of the humans, a few of my father's other wives have been going, and I get the feeling that there is more to these guys than meets the eye. So I go with them one day, while we sat around, I noticed how many people were there. This guy wasn't just having a support group, it's a full on seminar.

(Ted Dahmer is played by Cam Clarke)

"Welcome, welcome! All those downtrodden and beaten, welcome to your first step in taking your life back! I am your host, Ted Dahmer, and I thank you for coming here today."

The grey fox Faunus on stage wore a navy pinstripe suit, a white t-shirt, and black formal shoes. He had this air of being that one eccentric friend who means well but you still wouldn't leave around your kids. He went on about different ways to deal with people in your life, nothing I couldn't figure out on my own. Still, something was off about this guy.

"Alright, everyone. I'm going to need a volunteer for this next part."

A cat woman in the back row was called on to the stage, after Dahmer waved a medallion in her face, the woman declared that she felt stress free and didn't need to worry about the humans who bother her, next they show up and she'll tell them off. It doesn't sound that bad.

The Next Day

I should've known...

That woman from yesterday was arrested today. Those guys who gave her trouble were found brutally murdered in a ritualistic fashion in the store she ran. While the authorities were putting her away, she kept repeating that "He said that it was okay".

Dahmer is obviously behind this. He hypnotized her in front of hundreds of other Faunus, so it shouldn't take long until someone connects the dots.

...But what if nobody does?

With that niggling thought in the back of my mind, I get dressed and grab my swords from under my bed.

"And where do you think you're going with those?"

I turned and saw Father with an understandably disappointed expression.

"That guy I went to see with the others, I think he's behind it." I said, "That lady who killed those guys, she went up to Dahmer, he waved a medallion in her face, she said that she felt fine..."

Father stood silently, before he shook his head and stood aside.

"What?"

"You have no right to call yourself my son... until you stop him. Get out, and show that even a Faunus will not tolerate violence against humanity." He shouted, pointing towards the exit, "Dispense some justice, David."

I smiled and ran outside, sheathing the swords to my belt and climbing up to the rooftop. Taking a long sniff from the air, I managed to find where Dahmer's hiding fairly easily. The dude smells like weak coffee and blood. I headed west towards the seminar building and carefully opened a window as to not alert anyone. Sneaking inside, I descended downstairs to find the seminar room empty.

"I thought there was one scheduled for today..." I mumbled, before my ears perked up.

I quickly hid as the sound of footsteps grew nearer. In the rafters above, I saw the door that you'd enter if you followed the hallway from the outside entrance open. A Faunus woman, a cat in black with a sword on her back, walked slowly into the room, her heels clacking against the wooden floor.

"So, they're coming from here..." She said.

They're? Oh, she must be talking about the murders... or is she. The woman took a sniff to the air and pulled her sword from its sheath. Removing the broad, flat blade to reveal a thinner, curved one. Holding the broad blade in her left hand, she flicked her right wrist back and caused the blade to collapse back, the hilt of her sword is a gun. I don't have any ranged weapons on me, so I'm at the disadvantage if I have to fight her.

"I can smell you, you know?" She said before raising her arm and unleashing a hail of bullets in my direction.

"Holy-" I nearly shouted before narrowly jumping out of the way.

Drawing my swords, I manage to deflect the last four bullets before landing. I stand near the stage, the light making a silhouette of the woman.

"What're you doing here? Are you with Dahmer?" I demanded.

"No, I'm here to put a stop to him. Based on your question, I can assume that you're here to do the same?" She asked.

I relaxed and stood up properly, holding my swords towards the ground. She sheathed her weapon and walked towards me. Her raven hair illuminated with light from the entrance and her golden eyes seemed to glow in the dark.

"There was a murder yesterday, the woman who committed it came to the seminar. Do you have any information beyond that?" She asked.

"No, I was hoping to catch him in the act. But if you have anything, I'd be glad to hear it." I replied.

The girl let out a sigh of relief, "Dahmer is using the seminar as a cover for his business with the White Fang."

The White Fang, formerly a peaceful protest group that just wanted equal rights between Faunus and humans. Now, they're a borderline terrorist cell that won't rest until every human man, woman, and child is dead beneath their feet. I get wanting revenge because you were treated badly, but that's just going too far!

"So Dahmer's not just a crook..." I mumbled.

We both looked up at the stage, curtains closed.

"You know, I've always wondered what was below the base of a stage. I heard that's where the band plays an accompanying score to the performance, but what if there's something else under there?" I smirked, walking towards the stage.

There was a small door near the stairs up, the girl goes in first and I follow after her. The small room is full of sound equipment and a few unmarked wooden crates. Using my swords, I pry one of them open, inside is a stockpile of guns and swords.

"Guessing they might be using this place to smuggle weapons..." The cat girl says.

"On top of hypnotizing people to commit murder." I retort.

"Why are you so hung up about that? People get killed all the time." She turns with an annoyed look.

"Your beef is with the White Fang, mine's with Dahmer. You probably share in their interest, but not their actions, right?"

She nods her head.

"Well, maybe that's why fate lead us both here tonight. We have to work together regardless, so let's be rid of a common enemy."

She looked at the floor before giving me a sly grin.

"Blake, Blake Belladonna."

Blake extended her hand, and I grasped it and shook with her.

"David Morgan. Let's see if there's more to this place."

We started looking in every nook and cranny until we found a door hidden behind wallpaper. Entering inside, it's like an underground warehouse. Filled with various Faunus in white and black uniforms, all wearing masks.

"So, that rules out the cult theory..." I mumbled.

"They're not that much different." Blade jokes.

We jump to ground on top of a pile of mattresses. Nobody seems to have noticed us yet...

"...Like I said, your seminar is meant to instill fear into the humans by... persuading the Faunus that won't support our cause."

We ducked behind some crates as Dahmer walked in along with another, a red haired guy in a white mask and a black suit. Blake lightly growled when she saw him, so I'm guessing that they have some history.

"Mr. Taurus, I'm surprised those killings haven't been traced back to us yet..."

"Haven't been traced back to you yet, I have no part in this, remember?"

So, Adam Taurus himself decides to grace us with his presence. I should be honored, but all I feel is disgust, Blake can vouch for me because she's doing the same but worse.

"Calm down, we should keep listening to them."

Blake nodded her head as she stood up and crept alongside me to another area. We tried our hardest not to be spotted, but still had to remain out of smell range. Little known fact: Our ability to smell is actually worse than the animal we're based on. It's still good, but some are better than others here, dogs and cats mainly.

"Soon, there won't be any places to hide, my lovely Belladonna. You will come back to me..." Taurus mumbles.

"Boss, I have no idea why you're still so hung up about one girl." Dahmer chuckles, "Love is fleeting, if it becomes obsession, that's when it needs to end."

I looked back at Blake, pointing at her then Taurus. She nodded in reply to which I gave an expression like, "You have some bad tastes when it comes to dating".

"Hold on..." Adam stops.

"What?"

"We're not alone."

And just like that, we heard that sound of a bunch of clicking guns. We slowly got up and raised our hands above our hands. The goons around us chuckled, most likely because they're the sorts to not believe that a good hearted person from a bad group won't come back and try to stop them.

"Blake, it's good to see you again. So you've rethought you're lot in life?" Adam snarks.

"Go fuck yourself!" Blake growled, "I've come here to stop you!"

"I'm just here for Dahmer, I-I didn't know you guys were here." I said.

Dahmer looked up at me and smirked, walking up to me with a snakelike motion.

"Oh, I remember you from yesterday. You're the oldest son of King Henry."

"Yeah, what of it?" I asked.

"I used to know your mother, Marion. I wanted so desperately to bed her, but she spurned my advances. At the same time, I'm glad to know you're not my son... Not many can say that."

I clenched my fist tightly, so badly I wanted to just shut him up. Not because of his apparent vendetta against my father, but because I'm not a big fan of borderline terrorism strikes.

BGM: A little faster - There for Tomorrow

My eyes widen as I lunge forward, swords drawn. Before I could cleave Dahmer in half, my blade is blocked by Taurus's weapon, bastard's so cocky, he doesn't even unsheathe his blade.

"Unfortunately, I don't have time to play with you. Men, kill the wolf, but spare Belladonna if you can!" He shouted before he darted towards the exit.

Coward. The soldiers surrounded us, so Blake and I stand back to back.

"I'll take the forty on the left, you take the twenty on the left." Blake says.

"What, and let you have all the fun? We'll take at least half." I reply.

"We?"

Oh, yes. My semblance is a strange one indeed. Closing my eyes, I smile to myself as I lean to the right. Out of my left side, an ethereal blue copy of myself I like to call 'Divad', sort of pronounced like divide. I look at myself before we dive right into the crowd, swinging left and right, somersaulting over each other for flourishing strikes. With the sounds of clashing steel striking through the air like thunder. Five of them got the idea to jump on us like a bunch of cartoon ants, jumping over me, Divad kicked one of them slightly lower so I'd hike over his shoulders. The sound of gunfire erupted through the air as Blake knocked a few goons my way. Standing shoulder to shoulder, we rush for Dahmer. He armed himself with a pair of swords from one of the knocked out goons and ran at us with the swords upraised. Blake caught his blades as Divad and I dive kicked him right in the face, combining once again.

"I'm gonna make a nice coat out of your pelt!" Dahmer shouted as he rushed me.

Our swords connected as sparks flew through the air.

"Maybe that's why mom didn't want you, you're so weak, I haven't even broken a sweat yet!" I taunted

Blake kicked Dahmer from behind as she gave me a little nod.

"You know what, forget what Adam says! I'm gonna skin you both!"

He throws a sword at Blake before nearly over powering her. I tackle him and start punching him as hard as I could. Before I could hit him again, he grabbed my fist and threw me off with a brutal left cross.

"New plan of attack?" Blake asked as I was knocked her way.

"Yeah... I got a new plan..." I growled, before kneeling on all fours, "Attack!"

Like a wild animal, I lunged at Dahmer. But instead of trying to pin him, I jump over him and kick him towards Blake. Then we juggled him back and forth a little before I ended the fight with a hard right hook. I huffed and picked up my swords from the ground.

"Nice job." Blake said, dusting her shoulders off.

I beckon her to follow me as we exit the building. We head up to a police station so we can submit a formal complaint, or more accurately, I go into the station as Blake is uncomfortable entering inside.

"What's a mangy mutt like you doing around here?" The cop rudely asked.

"Head to the seminar building and look under the stage, I found the killer there." I said before turning tail and leaving.

We continue our merry way until we're halfway to my house, then Blake stopped walking.

"Sorry to cut this short, but I gotta bail." She said.

"Why's that?" I asked.

"I just... I have too, I'm sorry."

I stare at the ground and chuckle a little, before extending my hand.

"Thanks for helping me today. It means a lot."

She looked at my hand before shaking it, giving me a sly grin.

"Hey, if we see each other again, we should hang out."

* * *

As I entered the apartment, I noticed a new smell that reminded me vaguely of chocolate. Opening the door in an abrupt manner, I saw my father talking with a grey haired man in a dark green suit.

"And here must be the hero of the hour." The man in green said as he stood up and extended his hand.

"David, this is Professor Ozpin of Beacon Academy. He wants you to attend." My father blurts before going to get himself a drink.

We stood there for a while before Ozpin continued.

"Bravery like yours shouldn't go unappreciated, and I know when to credit skill instead of lineage."

I think for a second, skill over lineage? If that's the case, there would be more students at Beacon who are under the recommended age, right?

"If I'm going, won't there be others who got in this way?" I asked.

"Well, I already sent your friend, Edward, an invitation. As well as that girl you were fighting alongside." He smiled.

Smiling myself, I sit down on the couch.

"Okay, I'll go." I answered, "As long as I get the same classes as Edward and Megan."

After we made a little bit of conversation, Ozpin left and my father and I began our own conversation.

"David... you did the right thing today. You prevented more damage from the community." He said.

"Yeah, I... You taught me to always do what I can to help people, I'm just doing what I was told."

"That? That wasn't something I told you to do. You made the choice to stop that man, and the world will be a better place for it." He pats me on the back.

I looked at the moon and let out a light howl, something tells me that things are about to get very interesting.

My name is David Isaac Morgan, and this is the story about my best friend.


	6. The New Initiates Pt 1

**Legends, stories scattered through time.**

 **Mankind has grown quite fond of recounting the exploits of heroes and villains, forgetting so easily that we are remnants, byproducts, of a forgotten past.**

 **Man, born from dust, was strong, wise, and resourceful, but he was born into an unforgiving world. An inevitable darkness, creatures of destruction. The creatures of Grimm set their sights on man and all of his creations. These forces clashed and it seemed the darkness was intent on returning man's brief existence to the void.**

 **However, even the smallest spark of hope is enough to ignite change and in time, man's passion, resourcefulness and ingenuity led them to the tools that would help even the odds.**

 **This power was appropriately named, "Dust".**

 **Nature's wrath in hand, man lit their way through the darkness and in the shadow's absence, came strength, civilization, and most importantly, life.**

 **Even the most brilliant lights eventually flicker and die. And when they are gone… darkness will return.**

 _But that is not the tale being told, is it?_

 **Indeed, this isn't a story of light and darkness, good versus evil, but one of hubris. We all make mistakes, some are small, some large. But his mistake - born of innocence, fueled by pride - was perhaps the greatest and most terrible of them all...**

 _Some believe that when the Mercer family entered the cavern, it was simply a hunt gone awry. That they bit off more than they could chew. They who survived were simply lucky to be alive... but this is not how it happened._

 _The truth is that Edward Mercer emerged from that cave, traumatized, broken, and empty. But as the years passed, he felt something inside. A new motivation that drove him, kept him striving to be the best warrior alive... Pure hatred for the beast that took his mother, for the fire inside his soul burned brighter than the fire around him._

 **As with all mistakes he had made, Edward intends to fix this. A noble goal, to be certain, but a selfish one as well, for he is motivated to ease his own pain. But in doing so, he only sealed his fate... and doomed us all...**

* * *

Another quiet day... Makes you wanna do something, right? I just had to wait around until night fell before I could ditch the house. There was only a week or so before Ozpin's letter of invitation could be used, so I went to have some fun.

The streets of Vale were especially quiet tonight. It's like everyone has completely disappeared, leaving me to my lonesome. I do eventually see a shop with some lights on, one that sells Dust. Pushing the door open and listening to the ringing bell on top, the man behind the counter gives me a wave to which I reply with a small nod.

I make my way to the back and find a girl who can't be much older than I am, and she's dresses weirder than me. Give me some credit, I dress like a man who's on his last straws of sanity before he proceeds to go postal, but she is dressed in red and black from head to toe. It's all topped with a red hooded cape. She's reading a catalog of weapon parts, and considering the boom box shaped piece of metal on her backside, I'm guessing she's into weapon design, possibly outdoing me when it comes down to it.

"Jeez, how's she not deaf? Her music's so damn loud..." I mumbled before walking up to her.

I tapped on her shoulder, and at an almost breakneck pace, she turned back to look at me. Her silver eyes reminded me of the moon, if a quarter of it wasn't blown up.

"Can I help you with something?" She asked.

"You might want to turn your music down a little, I could hear it the second I walked in." I replied.

"Sorry, I get lost in the music sometimes. I forget that these headphones sometimes let the sound leak out." She bashfully stated.

I stare at her for a little bit, here I was thinking that she'd completely blow me off or say something rude, like most teens in goth lolita. But she's pretty nice... and pretty in general.

"Hey..."

"Sorry, lost in thought. What're you doing here?" I asked.

She held up her catalog and showed me the variety of parts they had on sale, most of them stuff out of my price range.

"You a weapons engineer?" I asked.

"Definitely! I made Crescent Rose here when I was at Signal. Ooh, good times." She said whimsically.

I let out a smile, a legitimate one, for the first time in a while. We've clicked, and I've made another friend.

"I'm Ruby, Ruby Rose."

I raised an eyebrow as I prepped an obvious joke.

"You are aware that's a pornstars name, right?"

She let out a loud snort and laughed for a solid fifteen seconds before calming down.

"Oh, okay then. So what's your name, Mr. Scar?" She joked.

I smirked and said in my haughtiest voice, "Edward Phineas Taylor Mercer, at your service." I gave an exaggerated bow.

Ruby gave one of her own, "Greetings, your lordship."

We chuckled a bit before the shopkeeper loudly groaned.

"If you're gonna flirt, take it outside!" He yelled.

We looked at each other, blush apparent on both of our faces.

"I wasn't- no, you were-" We kept copying each other for a bit before just giving up.

"So, uh... those must be some pretty awesome headphones." I tried to diverge the conversation anyway I could.

"Oh, these? Yeah, the sound is so clear and the bass is incredible. My uncle got them for me for my birthday, even had them designed with my emblem and everything."

Sounds really cool, but my mind keeps coming back to the flirting thing. I don't think I'm ready for the whole "dating" thing yet. Considering what I went through, I might just be an abusive piece of trash, and I don't want to bring that on to anyone else.

"Yeah, I think my phones should be on par with that." I pulled a pair of wireless clip on's from my pocket and handed them to Ruby.

"Snakeskin pattern, pretty cool." She said, she put the earphones on.

I quickly found a song, Kickstart my Heart by Mötley Crüe. Her eyes widened and I bet she tried her best to not start head banging.

"What is up with these?! These things were crafted by gods!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Well, thanks for the compliment. Made 'em myself." I tilted my head and gave a bored smile.

"Seriously?!"

"Yeah, in my garage, with these hands."

We made a little bit of small talk until she decided to drop a bombshell.

"My sister is going to Beacon in a week..." She said wistfully.

"Well, whaddya know? My sister and I are heading over to Beacon too."

"Seriously, I'm so jealous."

Maybe I shouldn't tell her that I'm a year under the permitted age. After a little bit more small talk, I laze on a nearby couch with a magazine while listening to my tunes.

That was, until Roman came back.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a Dust shop open this late?"

This motherfucker. Looks like I'm gonna have to kick his ass, but instead of getting up and causing a scene, I'll wait and take a more subtle approach.

"Please, just take my Lien and leave." The keep said, scared out of his wits.

"Shh shh, calm down, we're not here for your money. Grab the Dust."

I had this guy pegged for a crook, I'm also wondering if he brought his neapolitan girlfriend with him. One of his goons walked towards a series of Dust tubes, near where Ruby and I were. He walked up to her with his machete raised.

"Alright, kid. Put your hands up where I can see 'em." He said, not realizing her headphones were on.

"Hey, I said hands in the air! You got a death wish or somethin'?!" He pulled her around, knocking her hood off.

I stood up and took off my earphones, the goon glared at me before turning his attention back to Ruby. He pointed at the side of his head, signaling to take her headphones off.

"Yes?" She asked.

"I said, put your hands in the air, now! That goes for you too, blondie!"

"I think he's robbing us." I said.

"Yeah, I am!" The goon said, pointing his weapon at me.

I grabbed his machete and slowly walked closer to him, "Get that fuckin' thing outta my face."

With as much strength as I could muster, I knocked him out with a single punch to the face, throwing him back a few feet. Two more guys came in the back with guns, but we made short work of them, knocking them out a window (along with ourselves for that matter) as Ruby's song hit the chorus.

Unsheathing our weapons, Ruby revealed that her boom box was more like a giant mechanical scythe, cool, if not impractical. I won't get into detail, so I'll just direct you to a kind fellow by the name of Skallagrim who made a video about how using a farming scythe in combat was not only difficult, but highly impractical.

After a short posing session, Roman looked at me and gave a little smirk.

"I was wondering when I'd run into you again, have you thought about my offer?"

"Yeah, I'm still not interested."

"Well then, get them." He directed his men as they all rushed at us.

Two of them leapt forward and swung their weapons down, I ducked a bit and raised my sword to block. Catching both, I pushed them off and kicked the one on the left in the stomach, making him keel over. The one on the right prepared to swing again, only for him to hit his face with my fist for some reason. I looked over to Ruby, who seemed to be handling herself pretty well. What I saw could only describe her fighting style as ballet with blades, bullets, and rose petals. It was a marvel to behold. After she dealt with her aggravators, she stopped to take a breath.

"Not bad." I said.

"Thanks, same to you." She smiled.

"Worth every cent, truly, they were." Roman said sarcastically, most likely to the guys we just mopped the floor with, he took out his cigar and flicked it to the ground, "Well, Red and Green, I think we can all say that it's been an eventful evening, and as much as I'd love to stick around..."

He raised his cane at us, like it was a gun, "I'm afraid this is where we part ways."

He shot several flares at us from the cane, while we dodged quite a few, I got hit in the arm with one. It didn't hurt much, but it left a really itchy mark. When the flash subsided, Roman seemed to have taken off. Spin around real quick, we saw him climbing a ladder to a nearby rooftop. Running forward, I turn to Ruby for a second.

"You waiting for an invitation? C'mon!"

"Right!" She said.

She propelled herself by pointing the head of her scythe to the ground and firing what I can only assume to be a .50 Caliber. She's got the dress sense, and a scythe that's also a sniper rifle. Absolute queen of Margaret Moonlight cosplay. I climbed up the side of the building by running up the wall until I reached a window, and pulling myself up with heavy upward momentum. We both land on the roof, and Roman nearly reached the gap between the buildings.

"Stop right there, criminal scum!" I shouted, earning me a "really?" face from Ruby.

Roman slightly turned his head towards us before we could hear the sounds of a whirring motor. A flying carrier came out from between the buildings, the force it's giving off making my hair and coat blow back.

Roman held up a red Dust crystal, shouting "End of the line, kids!"

He threw it to us before firing at it just before it hit the ground, causing a massive explosion that, thankfully, didn't cause the building to collapse on itself. Or maybe it was because of the blonde lady in white standing in front of us, holding up a crop whip and magic purple shield of some kind. Seemingly absorbed the explosion, I think. Pushing up her glasses, the woman turned her shield into arrows and fired them at the carrier, doing a good amount of damage, but leaving no visible marks. Roman ran into the cockpit, while the woman caused a thunder storm to emerge over the carrier, having ice spears fall from the sky like rain. A woman in a red dress walked from the cockpit and raised her hands, probably gonna have ourselves a little magic show.

"Hey, not to impose. But your dress is about as subtle as a train wreck on a boat!"

She shot a fireball at us, which we all jumped back from, then pulled a plume tower up from under us, which we also dodge. With the broken pieces of building from the proceeding attack, the woman in white used her magic to form a giant spear of concrete.

"Bet she needs one of those later." I joked.

She glanced back at me with icy cold eyes before launching the spear at the carrier, and while the woman in red may have redirected its course, she didn't stop it from reaching its destination. Splitting it into three parts, the woman in white struck the carrier, only for the woman in red to release a massive blast of fiery energy and destroy the stone lance. Ruby and I started to open fire on the carrier before it just took off.

"Yeah! That's how we do it in my town, bitch!" I shouted.

Ruby and I turned to the woman in white, she looked incredibly disappointed at us.

"You're a huntress?" Ruby asked.

She gave a slight nod of her head.

"Can I get your autograph?!" Ruby squeed like a fan girl before the woman grabbed her by the ear.

"That's for the bout of recklessness." Then she grabbed my ear, "And that's for the comments! You both are coming with me."

She pulled us into a dark room, Oum knows where, and flicked a bright light on.

"I hope you realize that your actions tonight will not be taken lightly, you two. You put yourselves and others in grave danger."

"The guys in suits robbed the store, you'd rather us sit by and watch?!" I yelled.

"If it were up to me, you'd both be sent home... with a pat on the back..."

Opinion rises.

"And a slap on the wrist."

Opinion lowers, along with her little fly swatter on the table.

"But... there is someone here who would like to meet you, Ms. Rose."

Out of the shadows, Ozpin walked in with a cup of joe in one hand and a plate of cookies in the other.

"Hello there."

I so desperately wanted to shout out 'General Kenobi!', but somebody in comments probably beat me to it.

After pointing out the fact that she has silver eyes and creeping us both out, Ozpin directs our attention to the witch's scroll, showing off a video feed of Ruby's outstanding combat ability. All I could ask is 'where is camera'.

"So, care to explain where you learned to do that?" He asked.

"S-Signal Academy?" Ruby replied, not doing a good job at convincing us.

"They taught you to use one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed?" Ozpin raised an eyebrow.

"Well, one teacher in particular!" Ruby quickly said.

Ozpin nodded his head and placed the plate of cookies in front of us. Slowly, we started picking at them before we eventually started fighting each other over the last two.

"It's just that I've seen one other scythe-wielded of that skill before. A dusty, old crow..."

"Oh, ther mah uncler..." Ruby tried to speak through a mouthful.

"Chew."' I said blankly.

She did, gasping for a large breath, "Grah, sorry..."

"What're you apologizing to me for?" I asked.

"Yeah... That's my Uncle Qrow. He's a teacher at signal. I was complete garbage until he took me under his wing."

"I get it!"

"And now, I'm all like-"

She started making kung fu noises up the wazoo. Ozpin put his cuppa joe on table and sat down across from us.

"So I've noticed, and what is a girl such as yourself doing at a school designed to train warriors."

She went on with the usual 'I want to help people because it's the right thing and most of my family are hunters so I want to be one too' story that I should just come to expect.

"What about you? You said that your going with your sister to Beacon, why do you wanna be a hunter?" Ruby asked while pulling on my jacket.

I looked at her, then at Ozpin and Glynda, before letting out a long sigh.

"I'm gonna train up, as much as I can. Then I'm gonna find the Grimm that killed my mother, and then mount it's head on a plaque to adorn my wall." I said darkly.

Ruby let out a small gasp, "I-I'm Sorry for bringing it up."

"Let's not talk about this." I shut the conversation down before Ozpin and Glynda let us go.

 _Ruby's POV_

As we walked down through the town, I kept my eyes glued to the street. I can't believe I made him talk about something so personal, I might've hurt his feelings.

'Stupid, stupid Ruby!' I mentally shouted at myself.

"Hey." He said, turning back to me.

"Yes?!" I squeaked.

"Don't beat yourself up to much. You didn't know about my mother, so I can't fault you for it. As far as you knew, we just had slightly differing motivations... it just so happens that mine is a little dark."

Looking at Edward like this, I notice how handsome he really is. His dark blonde hair blowing softly in the wind, along with that coat in a rhythmic fashion. The black, green, and blue of his color scheme meshes pretty well together, and that scar over his eye gives him an air of mystery and danger. He's just like a character from one of my stories! That makes me love him even more! Wait, love? I barely know him, I can't go fantasizing already. But, I can't help but feel attracted to him. The dark hero with a tragic background and a temper to match, just like a character from my books.

"Still, I shouldn't have brought it up."

"Listen, it's fine. I... I'm not mad or anything, so..." He held his hand out, "Let's just try to get along... okay?"

He's blushing a little, and I can't help but do the same. I grasp his hand and we shake.

"Sure, lets be friends!" I said happily.

Edward let out a light chuckle before we part ways.

"See you at Beacon, Mr. Mercer!"

"Same to you, Ms. Rose!"

I shouldn't tell Yang about this, or she'll never let me hear the end of it.

'Look at that, you've got a boyfriend!'

He's not my boyfriend! As appealing as that sounds...

 _Edward's POV_

I can't believe how fast my heart's beating! I thought I was gonna have cardiac arrest or something...

"Don't think about it too much... She's just one girl..." I muttered.

 _The following week_

 _Edward and Megan_

There was a large carrier at the harbor in Vale, I'm guessing that's how we're getting to Beacon. Dad pulls us aside to say farewell.

"I... good luck, you two. Just try not to get into any trouble." He says, giving us a tight hug.

"Dad... Thank you, I won't let you down." Megan says, smiling.

"Yeah yeah, I love you too. Can we not do this with so many people around?" I tried to slip out of the hug.

Dad chuckled and let us go, "Alright, don't forget to call me once a week."

"Will do." Megan and I said.

 _Renaldo_

"Well, I guess this is goodbye for now." Father said.

I give him a smile and place my hand on his shoulder.

"Dad, it'll be fine. I promise to write every once in a while, and I will be careful."

He suddenly brought me into a tight hug, "I know I may not have been the best at being a father... but I want you to know that I love you. You haven't done much yet, but you've already proven to me that you are a worthy huntsman."

 _Laurent_

It's the first time I've set foot in Vale, all I can say is that it's definitely a lot warmer.

"Well, if I can't change your mind about your course in life, I'll at least support you on this venture. Good luck, my son."

"Thank you, I'll show everyone that I have what it takes." I reply, shaking my fathers hand before stepping onboard.

 _David_

The pups kept trying to pull me back, they're not really accustomed to this method of schooling, and they probably think that I'm being kidnapped.

"David, make sure to tell Edward that I said hello if you see him."

I looked up at my father and smile, "Of course I will."

 _Back to Edward_

We glanced at each other as we boarded the carrier. Once we were in the air, I noticed Ruby getting smothered to death by a blonde girl with two bombs under her chest, I'm guessing that's her sister. I had this urge to go and talk to her, but I doubt I'd want to deal with Goldilocks right now.

"Sorry, coming through!" Some guy shouted as he pushed past me to go throw up in a trash can.

"Probably has a weak stomach." Megan murmurs.

Probably, I would feel a little bad for the guy... but I don't, sucks to be him.

"The robbery was led by nefarious criminal Roman Torchwick, who continues to evade authorities. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department. Back to you, Lisa."

And just like that, the media has taken our eyes and ears. At least it seems to be about something important this time, instead of the usual celebrity gossip.

"Thank you, Cyril. In other news, the mysterious 'Snipper gang' seems to have disbanded after their leader, Sweeney Barrows, was found killed with his own weapon."

Finally, some recognition.

"Be warned that the images you are about to see may frighten some, viewer discretion is advised."

They showed various images of the crime scene, including Sweeney's body. He was still pinned to the ground with his scissors.

"Seriously?"

"Who do you think did that?"

"Guy who killed him must've been crazy strong."

Ah, adoration from the public. What you don't show with celebration, I accept regardless.

"On the other side of Vale, this Saturday's Faunus Civil Rights protest turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony. The once peaceful organization has now disrupted-"

Before Lisa could continue, the feed was replaced by a hologram of Glynda Goodwitch.

"Hello, and welcome to Beacon. My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious Academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it: You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world."

Courage? I doubt any of these people have seen an actual fight, or a Grimm, for that matter. If anything, I'm overqualified.

(End of Part 1)


	7. Intro - This Will Be The Day

_Intro BGM: This'll be the day - Little V (his more recent, shorter cover)_

 _They see you as small and helpless  
_ Edward sits on the ground, cradling his left knee near his chest. His left hand is on top of his knee and in his right hand is an old picture of his mother as a child.

 _They see you as just a child_  
Megan stands up, walking through the lit up streets of midnight Vale. As 'Just a child' is said, the camera switches to a 2D view of her and Renaldo walking past each other, showing that while the may have similar agency and walking the same path, they have a different direction to take in their lives.

 _Surprise when they find out a warrior will soon run wild  
_ Laurent and David stand back to back with their eyes closed, heads bowed. At 'Soon', they suddenly look up and at the camera.

 _Prepare for your greatest moment  
_ Ruby kneels at Summer's grave before standing up and seeing her image disappear.

 _Prepare for your finest hour  
_ Weiss stands in a black room holding Myrtenaster, looking up with a determined expression.

 _The dream that you've always dreamed is suddenly about to flower  
_ A back to back image of Blake standing in the tree with red leaves before suddenly vanishing, and Yang looking into a locket before riding off on Bumblebee.

 _We are lightning, straying from the thunder  
_ Shots of a Grimm horde, Roman, and a shadowed Cinder, just like in the show.

 _Miracles of ancient wonder  
_ An action shot of Teams EMRLD, RWBY, and JNPR fighting back to back. Displaying their teamwork as a mightier force against hordes of Grimm.

 _This will be the day we've waited for  
_ Continued action shot, but focusing on Edward as he activates his Berserker Armor Semblance and proceeds to tear apart a Grimm with his bare hands.

 _This will be the day we open up the the door  
_ Shots of Jaune standing at the statue in front of Beacon.

 _I don't wanna hear your absolution, hope you're ready for a revolution  
_ Continued, Pyrrha rests her hand on Jaune's shoulder and gives him a smile, the camera pans out to show Ren and Nora standing with them.

 _Welcome to a world of new solutions, welcome to a world of bloody evolution  
_ Scrolling shot of Ozpin and Glynda on one of those glorified flying school buses.

 _In time, your heart will open minds  
_ An abstract series of headshots with our central cast of thirteen, the open their eyes and look up as their emblems flash on screen

 _A story will be told  
_ A zoom out shot from Ozpin and Glynda, characters appear in this order

Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, Ren, Yang, Blake, Weiss, Ruby, David, Laurent, Renaldo, Megan, and Edward

 _And victory is in a simple soul  
_ The screen goes into a flat, minimalist style as Edward strikes a pose (Think Corrin's Battle start pose from Fates, where he starts with his sword behind him before spinning around and flipping his sword in his hand), ending with Edward striking the pose that serves as this fic's cover in front of the broken moon with EMRLD spelled out


	8. The New Initiates Pt 2

Soon, the carriers arrived at Beacon, and I have to remind myself to not look down when I step out of this flying metal box. As we do, that kid who was throwing up earlier ran out and found another trash can to puke in.

"Actually, you go on ahead. I'll meet you by the door." I said to Megan.

She nodded her head and pulled her hood up. I looked around to see if Ruby's still with us, thankfully she is, and she seems to be freaking out about other people's weapons. Before I could walk up to her, I had to wait for her sister to leave. Eventually, she took off with some of her friends and left Ruby.

"Okay, just walk up, say hi, and don't make it weird." I muttered before bumping into the puking kid.

He's a fellow blonde, wearing a black, short sleeved hoodie with an orange interior under white armor. There's an ornate sword sheathed at his belt.

"Hey, you alright?" I asked.

"Oh, don't worry about me. Just not a big fan of heights." He replied.

I groaned and reached into my pocket, retrieving a tin of breath mints.

"Here, take a few. They'll help calm your stomach and you don't want to be walking around with that breath."

He nodded his head and took a handful, downing them instantly before he stood up.

"I'm Jaune, what's your name?" He asked.

"Edward."

"Finally, I know somebody else here!" He says ecstatically.

"Will you calm the hell down?! You're making me look mentally sound in comparison." I shut him up.

"Sorry, it's just that I'm trying to get to know as many people as possible. Hopefully I'll make a team with them."

I scoff and proceed to walk away, "Good luck with that."

"Hey, wait!"

I stand a good distance away from Ruby as she falls into somebody's luggage. A girl with white hair and clothes starts yelling at her.

"What are you doing?!" The girl nearly screamed.

"Sorry..." Ruby whined in pain.

"Sorry?! Do you have any idea of the damage you caused?!"

"Uh..."

Looks like I'm gonna have to choke a bitch. Whitey picks up a suitcase and opens it, revealing its contents to be Dust containers.

"Fire, water, lightning." Whitey started shaking a bottle of fire Dust around.

A red cloud quickly filled the air around the two, Ruby inhaled some of it, sneezed, and caused an explosion Michael Bay would be jealous of. The bottle flew from Whitey's hand and landed near a girl in black with a ribbon on her head. The second I saw her, I immediately recognized her as the girl Sweeney was talking about with his dying breath. A cruel smirk formed on my face as I walked up to Ruby.

"I'm really, really sorry!"

"You complete dolt! What are you even doing here?! Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?!"

"Aren't you a little old to be throwing a tantrum?" I sneaked up behind Whitey and whispered hoarsely in her ear.

She jumped back in surprise, holding her arms to her... less than ample chest.

"Who are you to sneak up on people like that?!" She shouted.

"Edward!" Ruby shouted as she darted over to give me a hug. Unexpected, but not unwelcome.

"Can you let me go?" I asked.

She got off of me as quickly as she got on, giggling a little.

"Anyway, this isn't your ordinary combat school. It's not just sparring and practice, you know. As for you, in the coat, that kind of behavior is sexual harassment, and you could be put away for that." Knowitall too, huh?

"Yeah, I know what I was doing, I was trying to make you uncomfortable so you'd shut up for once. You strike me as a spoiled rich girl type..." I scratch my nose and chuckle to myself.

"And I kept saying I was sorry, princess!" Ruby cut in.

"She's an heiress, actually." The girl in black, along with Jaune, walked up to us, "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust company. One of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world."

"Finally, some recognition!" Weiss says.

"The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners." Cat girl finished.

I laughed in a mocking tone, barely able to contain my enjoyment.

"Moral of the story... you're a bitch." I said between laughs.

Weiss took her Dust bottle and stormed off, a few guys in suits picking up her stuff. I'm guessing they're butlers.

"I promise I'll make this up to you!" Ruby shouted.

"Guess you're not the only one having a rough first day, huh?" I asked.

The girl in black walked away before we could strike up a conversation. Figures.

"Well, I guess it's not too bad. I mean, that explosion could've been bigger." Jaune said while nervously laughing.

I looked at him with a serious expression before smirking, "You're alright, dude."

"Aren't you the guy who threw up on the ship?" Ruby chuckled.

The three of us walked through the courtyard together, we took some time to talk about where we're from... well, more Jaune and Ruby, anyway. For some reason, it led to Jaune spitting a thesis about motion sickness.

"Look, all I'm saying is, motion sickness is a lot more common than people think!"

"Okay, you made your point. Vomit boy was something we made up on the spot." I said.

"Well, what if I called her crater face, and you the edgelord?" Jaune yelled.

"Eh, accurate..."

"Hey, that explosion was an accident!" Ruby snapped back.

"Well, the name's Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls of the tongue, ladies love it."

"Do they?" Ruby and I asked in unison.

After an uncomfortable silence, we decided to compare weapons. Ruby whipped out her scythe and implanted it into the ground.

"Well, don't gotta be so upfront about it." I said in a silly voice.

"A scythe?!" Jaune nearly screamed.

"It's also a customizable high impact sniper rifle." She explained.

"A what?" Jaune asked, dope he is.

"It's also a gun." I summarized.

Jaune pulled his sword from its sheath, nothing to sneeze at. His sheath could also turn into a shield, which was kind of cool, but he sounded embarrassed about the whole thing.

"It gets smaller, so when I get tired of carrying it, I can... you know, put it away." Jaune said.

"It probably weighs the same, though?" Ruby asked.

Jaune nodded his head in defeat.

"What about you, Ed? It's probably cooler than mine."

I rolled my eyes and pulled the sword hilt from my coat. When Jaune and Ruby looked at it for a while, making slightly bored faces, I pressed a button and the blade shot from the hilt.

"A pistol sword, she weighs little over nine pounds and fires custom fifteen round .45 ACP cartridges at a hundred rounds per minute. It cost about four thousand Lien to fire this weapon for three seconds." I said in a dramatic voice.

Jaune proceeded to piss his pants while Ruby yanked the sword from my hand to start inspecting it.

"Sorry, I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons. Does it have a name?" She asked.

"No, but I was thinking about calling her Green with Envy."

She retracts the blade and tosses it back to me. Jaune steaming with jealousy, I'm guessing that the name fits.

"Yeah, but our weapons are glorified toothpicks compared to yours." Jaune stated, gotta admit, he has a point.

"I guess I did go a little overboard in designing it." Ruby said, bashfully.

Jaune stood back and I tilted my head.

"You built that?!" He asked.

"Where would she get that, a cosplay shop?" I snarked.

"All students at Signal forge their own weapons. Didn't you make yours?"

"It's a hand-me-down. My great-great-grandfather used it to fight in the war."

Jaune regales.

"Sounds more like a family heirloom to me." Ruby tried to comfort him by saying that the fact that it's retro makes it cool, I'm guessing Jaune's not buying it.

"Mine's kind of the same, but I apparently didn't have enough respect for the classics. It was my grandfather's before he gave it to me as a present for my fourth birthday. I retrofitted it with all these mechanical parts, filed down the blade so it's retractable." I rolled my hands to emphasize the details, why explain when you could just show with action?

"Weiss said you're a little too young to be here? Is she being serious?" Jaune asked.

"I'm fourteen." Ruby states like it's no big deal.

Two years under the limit, huh? Sounds like a T.V. Show to me.

"Seriously? And here I thought fifteen was pushing it."

We made a bit more small talk before we started talking about our families. Apparently Ruby and her sister, Yang Xiao Long, are half siblings. I find it weird that they wouldn't share the same last name if that's the case, if they share the same dad. Maybe there's something else going on here. Jaune started talking about his truckload of sisters, this also sounds like a T.V. Show.

"Who was your grandfather?" Ruby asked.

"Well, my sister and I are descendants of the Kidd and Read families."

"Hey, I read about them once. They used to be notorious outlaws before they became Hunters, right?" Jaune butt in.

"And after that, they had one of those petty feuds. But unlike the Capulets and Montagues, my parents weren't stupid teenagers. They persisted, and married just to spite their parents. The feud was ended right there, because if anyone of them could find peace with each other, the rest of them could."

We stopped the conversation and found our way to the main hall. Yang called out to Ruby and she took off in that direction.

"Where am I supposed to find another nice, quirky girl to talk to?"

I spotted a chick in a leather and bronze outfit, red hair, and green eyes. I pointed her out to Jaune.

"She looks like a safe bet, go get'er, tiger!" I said before trying to find Megan.

Texting her on my scroll, she said that she's near the northwest wall. I make my way only to blindly bump into someone.

"Hey, watch it!"

"You watc-"

We stared at each other, grey hair ending in black, brush-like tail, dark blue eyes.

"David?"

"Edward?"

"You son of a bitch!" We said as we did an armlock and picked each other up.

After catching up on recent events, we headed over to Megan.

"Yeah, I'm surprised Ozpin's letting us attend. We're supposed to be sixteen for that, right?"

"Tell me about it, not just us two, but a fourteen year old is allowed to go here." I sighed.

"A fourteen year old? You know them?" David asked.

I blushed a little and stared at the ground, "It's a she..."

David chuckled and we continued on our merry way, we eventually found Megan. Next to her was a guy in a red and silver jacket, and just a little ways away from David and myself was a well dressed guy with dark grey hair and a lavender shirt.

"I find it odd with the cast of characters I'm surrounded by." I bet we're all thinking.

"How's your day going so far?" Megan asked.

"...Interesting..."

"He's got a girlfriend now." David butts in.

I glare at him, thankfully Megan takes it as a joke.

"...And we can talk about cute boys, like tall, dark, and broody from earlier."

I feel like I'm being insulted right now, maybe I should've choked Weiss when I had the chance.

"I'll... keep this brief."

And just like that, the speech begins. Ozpin stands center stage with a microphone.

"You've traveled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you finish, you plan to dedicate your lives to the protection of the people."

Sounds good so far.

"But I look amongst you and all I see is wasted energy in need of purpose. Direction. You may assume knowledge will free you if this, but your time at the school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far."

And like that, it's a back handed insult. Thanks, asshole.

Later

In the ballroom, everyone huddled in sleeping bags next to their friends, or just lay on blankets. I think a few might've had air mattresses, but then again I thought squirrels could read my thoughts. The hell do I know?

'Things started off kind of weird, but I'm sure we'll get the hang of it.' I texted dad before standing up to see if there were any snacks here.

I bumped into the guy from earlier, he's wearing a red tank top and black track pants. For the record, I'm wearing a pale green t-shirt, not the torn up v-neck I usually wear, and some grey basketball shorts.

"Sorry." I lean down and pick up the packaged sandwich he dropped.

"It's okay... Didn't I see you earlier, what's your name?" He takes his sandwich.

"Edward."

"Renaldo, I'll see how effective you can be tomorrow. I only want strong people fighting alongside me."

I scratch my head as he walks off, he's kind of a dick. Less so than Weiss, so I guess that's a point in his favor. Eventually, I found a vending machine full of a bunch of stuff, and the guy with dark grey hair, wearing grey and lavender striped pajamas, bought himself a grocery bag of sweets.

'Weirdo...' I thought, but I'm not exactly one to talk. Or think, in this case. I bought a pack of pretzels for myself, a yogurt parfait cup for Megan, and a thing of jerky for David. After dispensing dinner, I heard Ruby's voice come from somewhere else in the room. Instinctually, I followed it.

She and her sister were trying to make small talk with the cat girl, apparently named Blake. David told me a little about her, so maybe she's not as much of a threat as I thought. That's not gonna stop me from pushing her buttons, though. Speaking of David, he's currently walking behind me, wearing a dark blue shirt and grey sweatpants

"Remind me why you're keeping me from sleeping?" He said with a yawn.

"Because if go over to her alone, they'll think I'm up to something." I said through gritted teeth.

Ruby and Yang ended there debacle with Blake with a surprise visit from Weiss. After waiting a little while, they left the scene and we followed them.

"Ruby, hey." I greeted.

"This the guy you were talking about? Not a bad catch, sis." Yang teased her sister.

"Hey, stop! It's not like that..."

"And he brought one for me, too!"

"You must be Yang. Ruby's told me about you, you're half siblings, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, Tai Xiao Long's our dad, Summer Rose is her mom, and Raven Branwen is mine." Yang exclaimed.

"Who's your friend?" Ruby asked.

David stepped forward a little, cleared his throat, and tried his hardest not to stutter.

"I-I'm David. It's nice to meet you both."

Good job, buddy. Yang seems to think so, because she walks up to David while shaking her hips as much as possible. He tried to back away, but she locked her arms around his neck to prevent his escape.

"You know, I've always wanted to get my own puppy. What I didn't realize is what I really needed... was a wolf." She does that cougar purr thing before giving David a quick peck on his lips, "I'll see you boys around."

Yang went back to her sleeping bag as Ruby seemed to turn completely red. David, almost drunkenly, went back to Megan.

"I'm sorry, she can be extremely forward sometimes."

"Well, I guess it's good that she likes David then..." I chuckled slightly, red faced myself.

We stood there in awkward silence, I completely forgot what I wanted to talk about.

"So... um, I'll see you at the initiation." Ruby stumbled through her words.

"Yeah... see ya." I said before calling it a night.

Little did I know, this was only the start of my problems.


	9. The Emerald Forest

_Renaldo's POV_

The sun beamed through the windows, forcing us all to wake up. After twisting my neck a little with a satisfying crack, I got up, did a short exercise regiment, took a shower, brushed my teeth, and had some toast and eggs for breakfast. I saw Edward, a girl I can only assume is his sister, and a wolf Faunus planning how they'll end up on the same team. Maybe I'll consider putting them on my team.

"Hey, what're looking at those guys for?"

I looked to my left and saw that weird guy from yesterday, the one with the dark grey hair and lavender shirt.

"You see the one with the trench coat?" I asked, lavender shirt leaned forward, "I talked with him yesterday, and I'm thinking I should have him and his friends on my team."

"Should? What make you think that you won't end up on his team?" He replies.

That's... actually a good point, "If I do, that means he's the better leader. I don't see a reason to make a fuss about it."

"Good call... I'm Laurent, by the way. Laurent Holmes."

"Renaldo Hellsing, yes, of THE Hellsing's. Don't start making a scene about it."

Laurent smirked a bit before getting up. I drew a sigh and followed him.

 _Edward's POV_

Today's the big day. The initiation that'll determine who joins our team. Honestly, I'm expecting disappointment.

"Hey, Ed?" Megan called my attention.

"What's up?" I asked.

"David was acting a little weird last night. Did something happen?"

Oh, right, that.

"You see that blonde chick over there, next to the girl in the red hood?" I pointed a few tables down, Yang and Ruby were sharing breakfast together.

"Yeah, what about them?" Megan asked.

"David kissed her."

David shot up, clearly pissed off.

"I didn't kiss her, she kissed me! Besides, the only reason I was over there was because you wanted to flirt with her sister!"

"David, be quiet or I'll cut your tail off and make you eat it!" I hissed.

Megan smirked at us and held her chin while leaning her elbow on the table.

"Having girl trouble, Edward?" She asked mockingly.

I stood up, drawing a few eyes. I can't keep feeling like this. Ruby... I can't love her because I barely know her. But I can't shake this feeling, there are so many emotions going through me... Confusion, desire to protect, slight attraction, but also... fear. I'm still young, so maybe it'll pass, I'll just wait it out.

"Whatever, she's nice, I just want to get to know her better. That's all..."

Megan doesn't stop smiling, though, and David looks incredibly embarrassed. I guess it is my fault, I dragged David over when I should've let him to sleep. But, it might've been better for him to meet Yang early, could be considered doing him a favor. She likes him, I guess that's fine.

"So, any strategies for us to end up on the same team?" David asked.

I snapped from my train of thought and looked up.

"O-oh, right... I was thinking we'd just try to find each other early. We're not allowed to use our scrolls, so we should come up with some sort of signal..." I pondered.

"Or, I could just track you guys down through scent. Don't doubt the capabilities of a Faunus." David said in a smug tone.

 _Later_

As everyone grabs their stuff from the lockers, I take note of what everyone's doing.

Ruby and Yang are having a debacle about Ruby joining a team without Yang. Also some teasing about what happened last night.

Jaune is having a panic attack about which locker he left his stuff in.

A Mistralian student named Ren and a ginger named Nora are doing a will they won't they routine. Ren's quiet, Nora's blood might as well be espresso shots.

Weiss is following the red head I saw yesterday, if I could describe Weiss's attitude about the whole thing... 'Zippity doo da zippity day, I diagnose you with the super gay'. This is followed with Jaune hitting on Weiss, for some ungodly reason.

Blake somehow manages to get her stuff with one hand and keeping her nose shoved in a book.

"...She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!"

Out of nowhere, I hear the screeches of the ice queen. Sounds like my cue.

"That's you?! I thought they only did that for star athletes and cartoon characters!" Jaune exclaimed.

I walked up and got a good look at who they were talking about. The red head from yesterday.

"Yeah, it was pretty cool. Sadly, the cereal isn't very good for you." She said.

"Pumpkin Pete's, it's a diabetic treat with every bite!" I said in my announcer voice.

Everyone but Weiss laughed.

"Hey, how's it going, Edward?" Jaune asked.

"Edward? Are you two friends?" The red head chimed in.

"Not really... We only met yesterday." I said in a bored tone.

"If it comes down to it, I'd like somebody like you on my team." Jaune exclaimed.

I smirked and turned to the red head.

"And who are you to have everyone worked up?" I asked.

"Pyrrha Nikos, it's nice to meet you, Edward." She says cheerfully.

"So, after hearing all this, do you really think you are in a position to ask her to be on your team?" Weiss interjected.

Jaune hung his head in defeat, "I guess not... sorry."

Pyrrha put her hand on Jaune's shoulder and gave him a smile, reassuring him that he'd great as a leader. Yeah, forgive me for siding with the ice queen on this one.

"I just hope you aren't as creepy with your team as you were yesterday." Weiss said.

"Oh, but that was yesterday, and I'd rather shoot myself than have you on my side." I replied.

"If I were with you, I'd just let myself be eaten by a Grimm." Weiss tried to one up my comment.

"I'd pay to see that." I replied.

"Listen here, you-"

Weiss's attention was pulled by the guy in the lavender shirt. Maybe she knows him. After he left, Weiss just gave up the conversation.

"Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation. Again..."

Here we go.

 _Later again..._

"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." Ozpin explained.

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to end your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today." Glynda followed.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So, it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well. That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

I look over to Megan and David, they give me a nodding smile and a thumbs up respectively. But I can't help but imagine myself with the others I've met so far.

Pyrrha: Your fighting abilities are incredible, but surely you can understand why I'd rather you sleep outside. You're... not well.

Weiss: You're absolutely crazy! Get away from me, you freak.

Blake: Aren't you going to kill me because of what I did to Sweeney?

Jaune: You seem cool and all, but I don't feel safe around you...

Yang: I'm only hanging out with you because of David. Honestly, you freak me out.

Ruby: You... like me? How could I like somebody like you? You're an absolute maniac!

I shake my head. Never trust the voices that reside there, so why do I still listen?! Turning my head to the side, I could see Ruby staring at me. She turns her head away when she notices I'm looking at her.

'Great, I thought we agreed to be normal...' I thought to myself.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest, you will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die."

Rip and tear until it's done, got it.

"You'll be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics, each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will guard that item as well as your standing and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

I raised my hand.

"Yes, mister Mercer?"

"You said we'd be in teams of four, but I see seventeen here."

"We have a measure prepared for that, all you need to do is focus on the given task. Anyone else?"

Jaune raises his hand only to be completely ignored.

"Good. Now, take your positions." Ozpin ended the debate right there.

Everyone assumed an wide legged pose. I stand as straight as a board.

'Little do they know that I rigged the speakers last night, because I knew I'd be standing on this platform here. When I get tossed upwards, it'll play a song that'll emphasize the fact that I'm never taking anything seriously.'

"Sir, I've got a question." Jaune asked again, "So, this landing strategy thing? What is it? You're, like, dropping us off or something?"

"No, you will be falling." Ozpin answered blankly.

"Wow, I see. So, like, did you hand out parachutes for us?"

"No, you'll be using your own landing strategy."

Yang gave David a wink before putting on a pair of aviators and being launched with a loud 'wooooooo!', Ruby followed soon after.

"Think of it like a trampoline, but without anything to land on but the cold, hard ground." I said.

"You're not exactly helpIIIINNNNNNGGG!" Jaune then got launched.

Showtime. Soon, my platform chucked me forward through the air, and just like I expected...

BGM: Kickstart my heart - Mötley Crüe

I'm a genius.

Maybe it's this majestic flight, but I feel that this is the first time that I've felt true serenity.

*Squawk*

IMMA KILL THAT FUCKIN' BIRD! Unfortunately, Ruby beat me to it.

"Birdie, no!" She cried.

This day just keeps getting better and better. I draw my sword and swing it a few times. Cutting my way through a few branches, I kick myself off a couple of trees and land exactly when the song hits a minute and twenty-nine seconds. It ends there, and I start running forward, determined to find David and Megan.

 _Ruby's POV_

Gotta find Yang.

Gotta find Yang, gotta find Yang, gotta find Yang!

I call out her name a few times, to no avail. Oh, this is bad, really bad. What if I can't find her? What if someone finds her first? There's always Jaune, he's nice. He's funny. I don't think he's very good in a fight, though. Ooh! What about Blake? So mysterious, so calm. Plus she likes books. Well, then again... I'm not sure I'd be able to hold a conversation with her. Maybe Edward? He's pretty good in a fight, and he's a little witty. That'd make for a good team-up! He's also kinda hot... stop it, Ruby. Actually, that might not work out, he'd think I'm rude if I kept staring at him.

Okay, who else do I know? There's Yang, Jaune, Blake, Edward, and-

Suddenly, I stopped when I noticed something white in front of me. Of all the people to run into, it had to Weiss. At least I can show her what I'm like in my element, maybe we can make up then. We locked eyes for a moment before she turned tail and walked off.

"Wait, where are you going?! We're supposed to be teammates!"

After waiting around for a little, she showed up again, and started dragging me by the hood.

"By no means, does this make us friends."

"You came back!"

 _David's POV_

I landed in a bush that thankfully wasn't full of poison oak. Following a scent, I followed it and found Megan stuck on a branch.

"Need some help?" I called out.

"Yes, please."

I jumped up and cut the stick she was caught on. She landed carefully and whipped out her lance, switching over to a rifle.

"We gotta find Edward." Megan said.

"Right, let's hurry!" I replied.

 _Renaldo's POV_

I almost landed in a Ursa's mouth. Spinning my guns out, I unloaded multiple shells right into it's face. It ducked and I slid on its back, slamming one of my hatchets down into it and riding to the ground. The Ursa fell and I took a breath.

"Oh, great!"

Someone nearby, it sounds like Laurent. I run over and see him caught on a Beowolf. He is taken for a ride when the Grimm starts jumping and sprinting around.

 _Laurent's POV_

Assessing the situation, I make a quick plan. I'll climb the cord until I'm close enough to stab it in the neck, jump off, and unleash a storm of lead on the rest.

One hand in front of the other, I eventually reached my target. I missed my initial shot, however, and stabbed it in the eye. The rest of my plan went without a hitch, though, as I backflipped off and shot at the ones that followed with my arm turret. When I land, I notice that a few of them have slash marks on them, they're too deep to be from my weapon.

"You looked like you needed some help."

Renaldo runs up to me, and I give him a smile.

"Thank you, really. Have you made any judgments as to who else would make our team?" I asked.

"Not yet, I haven't seen anyone else. If we hurry, we might be in luck."

 _Back to Edward_

I haven't seen anyone yet, guess that's good. But at the same time I haven't run into a single Grimm, which is a little unnerving.

"Dammit, just when I'd be able to cut loose."

Suddenly, a loud roar that might as well have been ringing church bells rang through the forest. At least a dozen Ursas appeared, and I smiled.

BGM: Blood Lust - TeamHeadKick

"Alright, alright, COME ON!" I yelled, running foreword.

Instantly decapitating one, I was knocked back by another. Hitting a tree, my vision darkened a little. Man, I live for this shit! Activating my semblance, I laugh as the Grimm take a step back. Standing up, I shot one in the face before stabbing it through the chin. Two of them tried a pincer movement, surprisingly smart for monsters. I jumped as high as I could before slamming my sword down through the roof of one's skull, ripping it out, and slicing the others jaw.

"You're gonna die... EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!" I started laughing maniacally.

THIS IS THE LIFE!

BGM: End at GET REKT

 _Renaldo's POV_

Soon, we made it to the temple Ozpin mentioned. It looked like a forsaken mausoleum, inside were sixteen pedestals, each with a large chess piece, King, Queen, Knight, Bishop, Rook, and Pawn. Some were missing, but there were still plenty to go around.

"Alright, let's head down and capture a few." Laurent stated, but before he could jump forward, I stopped him.

He was going to ask what, but I shushed him. I lifted one of my Scarborough Fair and held it in front of me. Tried using my semblance to detect any Grimm, but this foliage is too damn thick.

"I just hope he's okay."

"I'm sure he's fine, the guy can take a truck to the face and still walk away."

Quickly moving a large leaf out of my way, I aimed ahead, causing the two people talking to jump back.

"Oh, God!"

"Jeez!"

It was Edward's sister and the Faunus. I lowered my weapon and helped clear a way for them.

"Sorry for startling you." I said.

"Startled... isn't the word for it!" David yelled.

"Thankfully, you didn't try to kill us. So I'll just say fair's fair and move on." Megan took a breath.

Laurent gave a chuckle and I shot him a glare, we all jumped down to the temple. The girls in yellow and black already beat us there, however.

"Oh, hey! What's up?" Yellow said casually before she locked eyes with David.

"Uh... Yang? Why are you staring at me?" He asked nervously.

"Because I see something I really, really want. But I guess I can only be satisfied with looking for now. Just know that if there wasn't anyone else here, it'd be a completely different story." She said in a sultry tone.

Lucky wolf, able to attract a woman like her. I look over to Megan, she's smirking at her friend.

"Wait, if you're here... Where's your brother?" Yang asked.

"I'm guessing up there." The girl in black said.

We looked up and saw Edward being launched up into the air. He was laughing and howling like a madman.

"C'mon, try to kill me! I'm falling asleep here! You guys are no fun!"

I realized, Edward seems like he actually has a problem. It'd be enough if he was just taunting his enemies, but he's actually seeking death? I'll just hope that's part of a dark streak to his humor that I didn't know about.

"Let's get our pieces!" Laurent said.

Yang and Blake retrieved a white knight piece, Megan and I shared a black rook piece, and David and Laurent have a black bishop piece. Suddenly, an extremely shrill screech rang out from a cave a few ways away. A Deathstalker Grimm came bursting out while a blonde guy in a hoodie and white armor hung for dear life from it's tail, chasing a girl with red hair in leather/bronze armor who rushed from the cave. The blonde was flung from the tail. Thanks, Hunter's Vision.

 _Laurent's POV_

A girl in a red hood started falling from the sky, shouting 'Heads up!' as she did so. Only to be knocked away by the blonde. Fun while it lasted.

"Did your sister just fall from the sky?" Blake asked.

Before Yang could answer, our attention was called by the roaring of several Ursa, all coming for us!

"Everyone, get ready!" I shouted as we got into combat poses.

BGM: Resume song at 3:02

Edward suddenly came riding in on an Ursa, there more following him. He jumped off it's head while simultaneously chopping its block off. He dodged left, right, cut ones arm off and jumped. Stabbing the last one through the roof of its skull.

BGM: Ends at 3:52

Stumbling forward, he chuckled to himself before cracking his neck. The last Ursa was being ridden by a ginger girl wielding a grenade launcher, repeatedly shooting it in back. It fell, and a Mistralian in green caught up with her.

Edward looked up and smirked at us.

"Hey, did I miss anything?" He asked.

"Not much. Cool entrance, though!" Yang gave Edward a high five before he turned to the rest of us.

"I'm queen of the castle. I'm queen of the castle!" The ginger sang as she parades around with a white rook piece.

"NORA!" Her friend yelled.

"Coming, Ren!" She replied.

Those two are a couple, I'm certain. Before we could actually start a conversation, another problem occurred. Joy! A Deathstalker came bursting in with the spartan girl running as fast as she could. She dodged a claw swipe just as another thing grabbed our attention! I'm honestly getting sick of this. Yang's sister, Ruby, dropped from a nearby tree. But before the sisters could have a heartfelt reunion, Nora jumped between them and gleefully shouted her name.

"Did Pyrrha run all the way over here with a Deathstalker on her tail? Pretty impressive." Edward said.

Immediately after Edward said that, Yang let out a pained yell.

"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! COULD EVERYONE JUST CHILL OUT FOR TWO SECONDS BEFORE SOME OTHER STUPID THING HAPPENS?!"

An actual two seconds passed, the Mistralian ran up to us and caught his breath. I looked up in relief on to see Weiss hanging on for dear life from a Nevermore's talons.

"Why would you leave me here?!" She yelled.

"I said jump!" Ruby replied.

"She's gonna fall." Blake said blankly.

"Like hell!" I shouted.

I rushed forward and shot out my cord. It thankfully managed to impale itself into the Grimm's back, causing it to slow down. Zipping forward, I was close enough to grab Weiss, only for the blonde to try to get in my way.

"Dropping in-" I used his head as a stepping stone mid-wisecrack before Weiss fell.

"Got you!" I said.

Weiss screamed into my chest as we fell. I stuck the landing, hell on my knees, however. At least she's safe.

"You alright?" I asked.

Weiss looked up and gasped, we haven't seen each other in a long time.

"Laurent, is that you?" She asked.

"Yes, but we don't have time to exchange pleasantries." I set her down, her knees were shaking, "Come, let's get back to the others."

"R-Right." She said, hand in hand, we rushed as the blonde fell face first into the dirt.

 _Edward's POV_

Pyrrha crashed in front of us with a loud thud. Honestly, best day of the week so far!

"Great, the gang's all here! Now we can all die together." Yang stole one of my jokes.

"Not if I can help it! Come on, Edward, I got a plan!" Ruby called, rushing towards the Deathstalker.

"As long as I don't get roped into anything stupid!" I yelled back, running after her.

We ran at the Deathstalker, Ruby tried to end the fight in one swing only to be knocked back. I backflipped in response and fired a few times to get its attention. Trying to fight that thing head on is straight up suicide, not the way I want to go out. Ruby gets up and copies what I did, only for her to grab my arm and run back. That Nevermore from before came back and flung a shit-ton of feathers at us, Ruby's cape getting caught in the process and I got pushed forward by several feet.

"Ed, run!" She coughed.

"Like hell I'm leaving you behind!" I yelled back.

Whipping the blade out, I ran back towards the Grimm. Letting out a battle cry, rage flowed through my veins. The Deathstalker raised its tail up and tried to impale her, I couldn't let that happen. But before I could land a single attack, a flash out white darted past me and froze the Grimm's tail in place.

"You both are so childish."

"Weiss?" Ruby called out.

I broke the Nevermore's feather and pulled Ruby to her feet.

"And dim-witted, and hyperactive, overly moody, and don't even get me started about your fighting style!" Weiss gave out respective insults to the both of us, before I could give her a well deserved back hand slap, she turned back and gave us a light smile.

"I suppose I can be a bit... difficult. But if we're going to do this, we're going to have to do it together." Weiss looked Ruby directly in the eyes, "So, if you can stop trying to show off, I'll be... nicer."

"I'm not trying to show off! I want you to know that I can do this..." Ruby sighs.

"...You're fine." Weiss says before walking away.

Fuck it, she's getting a hand to the face. But I try my best to restrain myself, she's showing progress of going from a bitch to less of a bitch.

"Normal knees..." Ruby mumbled.

"Gesundheit?" I said.

"It's... it's about a thing Yang told me on the first day, it's nothing..."

Weiss then turned to me.

"And I guess I should apologize to you too. I saw you try to save Ruby, that shows you're at least brave, if not a little crazy..."

"Don't flatter yourself, besides, can we talk about this later?" I pointed at the cracking ice that used to be the Deathstalker's tail.

We started making our way to the temple, Yang came up and gave her sister a tight hug.

"So happy that you're okay!" She said before squishing me to death.

Death by tits, not a bad way to go.

"And thank you for saving her!"

"B-but I didn't really do much..." I gasped when she let me go.

We got back and everyone huddled in a circle. That Nevermore isn't gonna leave us alone, we need to find a way to kill it. But right now, we had to get those relics, run and live, as Jaune would say. I noticed that Megan, Renaldo, Laurent, and David all had pieces already. That left me empty handed.

"Here." Ruby said from behind me.

I turned to her and saw her handing me a black knight piece.

"I doubt we're gonna be on the same team, though." I muttered.

"Even if we're not, I still want you to earn your place here. Just... think of it as thanks for saving me." She said softly.

God, her eyes really do look like the moon. I gladly accept and we run towards the mountain. The Deathstalker nearly broke free as it left my sight.

Like I said, best day of the week so far.


	10. The first REAL day

Far over misty mountains cold...

To dungeons deep and caverns old...

Wait, wrong series!

BGM: The Phoenix - Fall Out Boy (Instrumental)

We ran through a mist filled clearing that, apparently, was the most direct path to the cliffs. You could see why I drew comparison to Tolkien's work. That Nevermore flew overhead and landed on a spire a stadiums length from us. I stood alongside Megan, Renaldo, Laurent, and David. The Nevermore screeched at is like it wanted an oversized cracker.

"I'm guessing that Polly's angry." I joked.

I'm pretty sure that Deathstalker could clap with its claws if you somehow managed to teach it. Thankfully, I was presented the opportunity to do so when the Grimm suddenly came from the forest we just escaped from.

"Yeah, fuck that! RUN!" I yelled as we book it towards the spire.

Ren and Nora grabbed the Nevermore's attention by shooting at it, all they had to do was keep it in place long enough for me to reach it. I can handle the rest. Before I could do that, I needed to ensure that the Deathstalker was out of commission.

"You guys go ahead, I'll catch up!" Renaldo shouted, stopping at the bridge and whipping out his guns.

He fired at the Deathstalker alongside Pyrrha. I see, if that thing comes closer, it'll crush the bridge under its weight and fall into the chasm below. Good plan.

"You keep the heat off of us. We'll handle the Nevermore!" I shouted back.

Renaldo looked back at me and gave me an affirming nod before the Deathstalker got too close. It was dumb enough to follow us, so at least it wasn't a wasted effort. Worse for it, the Nevermore slammed into the bridge, leaving a big gap right in the center. That left me stranded with David, Laurent, Ruby, Weiss, Yang, Jaune, and Nora. Everyone else was stuck on the other part of the bridge with the Deathstalker and no way around it. Screw you, Oum.

"We gotta get over there, they need our help!" Jaune yelled.

"Go ahead, fall to your death. That'll be of great use to them." I pointed at the twenty foot wide gap in the bridge.

Nora, oddly, had a plan to get across. You know those games at the carnival where they give you a hammer, and you have to hit a plank of wood really hard in order to launch a bean bag into a cup a few feet away? It was kinda like that, except with a bridge as a plank and Jaune as the bean bag. Nora then smashed a noticeable dent into the Deathstalker's carapace, I think we just found our ace in the hole. But she then bumped Blake off the bridge by accident, and before I could say that Sweeney's family was closer to being avenged, she threw her damn sword and grappled her way back, but not before getting on the Nevermore and giving it a few well deserved slashes. Megan and Renaldo also jump back our way via Nora using them like a baseball.

"Landing could've been softer..." He groaned.

Megan used her semblance before they got hit, so all she had to worry about was the landing. She's fine, thankfully, so she goes to help Renaldo up.

"No good, it's armor's too tough." Blake said.

"Then let's hit it with everything we got!" Yang shouted.

BGM: Red like Roses part 2

Ruby, Blake, Yang, Megan, Renaldo, Laurent and I started shooting at the Nevermore with everything we had. Weiss used some ice Dust in combination with her semblance, and David threw some rocks (big rocks, mind). However, that wasn't enough, and the Nevermore destroyed the spire, requiring us to parkour our way back to safe footing.

"Why didn't you stop it, you've doomed us all, David!" I yelled.

"Sure, pin this on me..." He sulked.

"I'm just pulling your leg." I lightly punched him in the shoulder before turning my attention to more pressing matters.

"None of this is working..." Weiss lamented.

I looked forward and saw that we had a pretty long stretch of bridge, I got an idea.

"Renaldo, Megan, Weiss, Laurent! You four shoot at the Nevermore, grab it's attention so it'll try to break the bridge again."

"Are you insane?! Why would we do that?" Weiss yelled.

"There better be a good reason for this." Laurent replied.

"David, you head over to Yang and Blake, work with them to try and get the Nevermore to come here. Ruby! You jump back and forth while continually shooting from those towers there, when it comes this way, Weiss will use her semblance to make a glyph that will vault us towards it, where we'll land the killing blow." I explained.

"Surprisingly well thought out. Alright, I'm in!" Renaldo shouted.

David, Yang, and Blake were already on with their part of the plan, which involved the usual over the top screaming and enough bullets to fill an arms factory. Yang seemed to be trying to punch the bird out of the air, eventually hitting it in the face with a shotgun blast. This made the Grimm mad enough to try and rush her, but Yang was badass enough to jump and hold the Nevermore's beak open with one hand and continuously fire into its throat with the other.

"I. HOPE. YOU'RE. HUN. GRY!" She yelled.

David, marry her. Every other part of the plan went smoothly, Megan, Renaldo, Laurent, and Weiss managed to clip its wings, so it's not going anywhere. That just leaves Ruby and I to lay down the Coup de Grace. David and Blake made a sling shot with two pillars and her sword's wire, Ruby and I took that as a sign, we jumped in and pushed back as hard as we could. Weiss used her semblance to catapult us forword.

"Of course, you'd come up with a plan like this." Weiss snarked.

"Think you can make the shot?" I retort.

"Can I?" She replied.

"Can you?" Laurent asked.

"Of course I can!"

We get launched, I hold on to Crescent Rose as Ruby fires a few shots to keep the momentum up. I let go when we're close enough and impale the Nevermore through the neck while Ruby caught its head with her scythe. I activated my semblance again as Weiss created a series of icy blue glyphs up the mountain wall. Ruby and I ran as fast as we could with the Nevermore in tow.

"Yaaaaaah!" She cried.

"Hurrrrrraaaaaaaaahhh!" I yelled.

As soon as we reached the top, we swung our weapons forward and decapitated the Grimm. Then we preformed a flip while we were still in the air before we hit the grass, falling to our knees and doing a pose with our weapons stuck in the ground.

"Fuckin'..."

"Awesome!"

Ruby and I stood up and high fived. Our job complete, everyone else found their way up to us and we head back to Beacon.

 _Later_

Teams were being assigned, first one was Russell Thrush, Cardin Winchester, Dove Bronzewing, and Sky Lark, who made up team CRDL (Cardinal). I expect them to be of little consequence.

"Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos, and Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces, from this day forward, you will work together as team JNPR (Juniper), led by Jaune Arc."

Knew the guy was more capable than he seemed. He was genuinely shocked when he was assigned as the leader, but I'm sure he'll do fine if he has those guys backing him up.

"Next, Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, and Yang Xiao long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces, from this day forward, you will work together as team RWBY (Ruby), led by Ruby Rose."

When you name the team after her, it's only appropriate for her to lead. Weiss certainly wasn't happy though.

"And, finally. David Morgan, Renaldo Hellsing, Laurent Holmes, Megan Mercer, and Edward Mercer. Unfortunately, you all didn't retrieve the same pieces, only sharing a single piece between two of you. Megan and Renaldo, you both retrieved the black rook piece. Laurent and David, you retrieved the black bishop. Mr. Mercer, you, sadly, were too late to find a piece. But Ms. Rose was kind enough to offer a piece with you, the black knight. That, and your cunning, camaraderie, and planning skills shall not go unappreciated. From this day forward, you shall work together as team EMRLD (Emerald), led by Edward Mercer!"

Wait, even though we technically failed, we still won? At least it was our skills and teamwork that won the day. So I guess that's good.

"Congratulations, you five. You're the first team in the entirety of Beacon's history to consist of five people. You should be honored."

This is certainly shaping up to be an interesting year...

I could hear murmurs from the crowd, and couldn't help but agree with a few of them. Some rules were bent to make this happen, there's no way that there is now a team with five people on it. But... here we are.

 _Later again_

We got settled into our dorms and called it a night. I should be proud I earned my stay, but at the same time... I don't feel like I earned it. Fairly certain I shouldn't be holding the lives of other people in my hands, either.

'Just sleep, Ed... the rest will come tomorrow.'

Still, I couldn't shake this other feeling... something bad is gonna happen, I'm certain. But, at the same time, I feel relieved. I've got other people watching my back now, and we can handle whatever the world throws at us.

Alone, we're formidable. Together, we'll be unstoppable.

 _The following morning_

Megan's an early riser, so she already got her personal grooming done before us guys had to jump in the shower, which was more like a hot tub, to be honest.

'Just don't look down and everything will be fine.'

Gay tension aside, we finished cleaning ourselves without looking at somebody else's dick and put on our uniforms. Can't say I'm a fan of these, they make me feel like an old man.

"And now that you guys are up and at 'em, it's time to address our first order of business, care to guess what that is?" Megan bellowed.

"Unpack?" I asked.

"Get breakfast?" David proposed.

"Install curtains in the shower?" Renaldo requested.

"Make a small library?" Laurent inquires.

"Not yet, later, maybe, and never." Megan clarified, "No, the first order of business is... DECORATION!"

We murmured about how that actually makes more sense. Beginning our first mission as a team, we each decide on a different role. I'm on woodwork, Megan and Renaldo are going to get some furnishings, David on finding some appliances, and Laurent's still hung up on that library idea, so we let him do what he wants.

I asked the janitorial staff if I could borrow some tools, and they gave me permission to take some wrenches, drills, a box of screws, and some blocks of wood. They also put a vacuum by our door just in case. Weapon engineering is my first love, and carpentry is my second, so I get to making some bunks for our beds, and yes, I did calculate for David's bed, he said he's fine with it being in the lower corner of the room.

Laurent ordered a mahogany bookcase, came up to the dorm surprisingly fast. He already had a few books to put there, an almanac, some history textbooks, and a healthy number of mystery novels. At least he's not a total nerd.

Megan and Renaldo got a swivel chair for the desk, a painting of a river stream through a forest, and a few white shower curtains, on top of getting a few bars and hooks to mount on the ceiling. I hung up a few band posters to add some character to the room, Trocadero, Jeff Williams, and Little V.

David came back with a microwave, portable stove, mini fridge, and a coffee maker.

"Alright, I think it's coming together." Megan said.

"And the second order of business..." Laurent began.

Classes... They start at 9:00 Monday to Saturday, and it's currently 8:55.

"CHEESE IT!" David yelled as we rushed from our dorm.

Renaldo's POV

Well, isn't this a way to start your morning? We ran into teams RWBY and JNPR on the way, who seemed to be having a similar problem to us. On another note, I thought back to Edward. I don't have a problem with him being leader, he's already proven himself to be capable. It's more to do with that little stunt he pulled yesterday, before we grabbed the pieces. Does he truly desire death? Maybe he's not your typical brand of suicidal, but wants to die in combat... like some kind of combat masochist. Considering his semblance and it's apparent ability to make him nearly invincible, I'm guessing it's the latter.

Thankfully, we were able to find our way to our first class, taught by Professor Peter Port, who specialized in Grimm research, hunting patterns, and weaknesses. If you could get past his attempts at jokes, he was actually a kind man who simply loved his work.

"Monsters... Demons... Prowlers of the night. Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names, but merely refer to them as prey." He chuckled to himself while stroking his mustache, trying it get a reaction from the students.

I look over and see that Edward, David, and Ruby have fallen asleep from boredom. Laurent, Weiss, and I are taking notes. Megan, Yang, and Blake are just trying to pay attention to varying degrees of success.

"And you shall too, upon graduating from this prestigious academy. Now, as I was saying... Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world. Our planet is absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces. That's where we come in."

Take it from somebody whose family has been facing the creatures of Grimm for over a millennium, they show no signs of decreasing in number. It's only gotten easier to fight them, and there have been technological improvements to keep people safer. But we're no closer to wiping them out.

"Huntsmen, Huntresses. Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves... From what, you ask? Why, the very world."

I notice Edward lift his head up and chuckle, Port immediately turns to him and walks up to that.

"Do I hear doubt in your voice, Mr. Mercer?"

"Not all of us are here because we want to be heroes, you know." He said.

Port raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "Would you care to elaborate?"

"Some of us are here because they want a different lot in life, or because it's a family tradition. As for me, I just like killing things." He says.

"That's... a rather bleak outlook, but nonetheless true. That is what you all are training to become. But first... a story. A tale of a young, handsome man. Me, when I was a boy..."

Port continued on with his story as my opinion of Edward began to sink lower. He couldn't possibly be here to just fight, can he? He went to save Ruby yesterday, so it's hard to imagine that he's only into it for the thrill, he has to care about something other than his own enjoyment.

"... Despite smelling of cabbages, my grandfather was a wise man. 'Peter,' he told me..."

I looked over to see Ruby snickering to herself about something, and Weiss giving her a dirty look. No longer was I invested in Port's story, now I just want to see what happens with these two. Ruby held up a... let's say less than stellar depiction of the professor, causing most of the table to laugh. The only exceptions were Weiss, Laurent, and David (who was still sleeping). Port cleared his throat and continued.

"...In the end, the Beowulf was no match for my sheer tenacity, and I returned to my village with the Beast in captivity and my head held high, celebrated as a hero." He gave a bow, like he expected us to be throwing flowers and praise, "The moral of this story? A true Huntsman must be honorable, be dependable, strategic, well educated, and wise. So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"

Laurent, Megan, Weiss, and I shot our hands up.

"I do sir!" Weiss blurted out.

"Well, then let's find out." Port went to the other side of the room and pulled a growling cage into view, "Step forward and face your opponent."

Weiss got up from the table, having brought her rapier with her. Once she was in front of the cage, she took a combat stance.

"Ooh, it's gonna be a slaughter." Edward snickered to himself as Laurent shot him a glance.

"I wouldn't be too certain of that, Mercer. Weiss is very capable in her own right." He defends.

"Don't you mean her left?" Edward laughs.

"Represent!" Ruby shouted.

"Shut up, I'm trying to focus." Weiss snapped.

Port retrieved his weapon from the wall, a blunderbuss with two axe blades on the stock.

"All right. Let the session begin!" He slashes the latch off the cage as a Boarbatusk walks out.

As soon as the Grimm spots Weiss, it charges at her. Weiss holds her blade at the ready, and makes a long scratch through the bone armor of the Grimm before dodging. As the Grimm prepares to charge again, Port interjects.

"Wasn't expecting that, were you?"

"Come on, Weiss. Show your skill!" Laurent cheers.

"Show it who's boss!" Ruby joins in.

Weiss smirks as she darts forward to stab it in the forehead, but the Boarbatusk swipes it's head upwards and catches her blade.

"Bold new approach, I like it!" Port shouts.

Unfortunately, the Grimm jerks it's head the right way and rips Weiss's rapier from her hand. Unless she can come up with a new strategy on the fly, she's done for. Guessing she's smarter than she looks, or just has dumb luck, because the boar just charges at her, to which she rolls out of the way. Weiss retrieves her sword and assumes her stance.

"Weiss, aim for the belly!" I yelled.

"Will you all stop telling me what to do?!" She yelled back.

And now, for what I feared most. The Boarbatusk jumped up and started spinning really fast. It's going to launch itself at high velocity, which can be fatal to an unprepared target. Weiss summons one of her glyphs, a blue one, and uses it to knock the Grimm back when it hits, then she jumps up and launches herself to stab it in the underside, ending the fight.

"It appears that we are indeed in the presence of a true Huntress in training! I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings and stay vigilant. Class dismissed." Port said.

Weiss glared at Ruby before coming up to Laurent.

"Can we talk?" She asked.

"By the way, Mr. Mercer, Professor Ozpin wanted to see you after class. He said that it's urgent that you see him." Port called out.

"Sure." He replied.

Laurent's POV

Weiss stormed through the hall, grasping my arm tightly. I wouldn't mind as much if she wasn't blowing steam from her ears.

"Why are you so angry?" I asked.

"I'm not mad at you, Laurent. I'm mad at Ruby."

Before I could ask why, Edward passed by and Ruby herself showed up.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you being-"

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you?! You're supposed to be a leader and all you've been so far is a nuisance." Weiss snapped.

"What did I do?!" Ruby yelled.

"That's just it! You've done nothing to earn your position! Back in the forest, you acted like a child and you've only continued to do so!"

Edward walked up to Ruby's side and crossed his arms.

"Where's all that coming from? What happened to all that talk about working together, as a team?" He asked.

Weiss let go of my sleeve and pointed right into Edward's nose.

"Even you! Your stubbornness should've gotten you killed multiple times over, and while your refusal to die may have been impressive, it doesn't excuse your borderline insane, rude, and perverted behavior!"

"Hey, the only reason I acted that way was so you could stop throwing a goddamn tantrum just because Ruby fell on top of your stuff. That honestly says more about you than it does about me or her." He replied before walking off.

"Get back here, I'm not finished with you!" Weiss yelled.

Edward just flipped her off without turning back.

"What are you saying Weiss? Was all that stuff you said a lie?" Ruby asked, nearly on the verge of tears.

"Only if the team is led by anyone but you. I've studied and trained, and frankly, I deserve better." Weiss coldly replies before grabbing my sleeve again and walking upstairs.

"Ozpin made a serious mistake..." She growled before opening the door to the roof and sitting down on the bench.

"You shouldn't be talking about her like that..." I said.

"But you understand where I'm coming from, don't you?"

I sat next to her, she wraps her hands around my arm.

"I know you think that Edward isn't cut out for this, to be fair, neither did I at first." I said.

"What do you mean 'at first'? I wouldn't be surprised if he has a criminal record or something." She replied.

I pulled my arm away, Weiss responds with a shocked look.

"You may have had your bad experiences with him, but as far as I've seen, he's not like that. Sure, he's possibly insane, but you can't deny that when he comes up with a plan, it works." I stated, "And about Ozpin making a mistake? It's only the first day, Weiss. Just give Ruby a chance to prove herself, because she seems like she's not used to being with so many other people counting on her."

Weiss looked up at me and nodded her head. She drew a long sigh before she wrapped her arm around mine.

"I'm sorry, I thought that you'd just affirm my opinions. I've spent my life getting nothing but things I've wanted and praise that was probably undeserved, so I thought if I was going to be the leader of my own team, I should just want it. I've made myself out to be a little bratty, huh?" Weiss looked into my eyes, oh, how they sparkle.

"Well, bratty might be an understatement..."

"But you've obviously shown yourself to be the stronger one here. Maybe I should follow your example."

I chuckle and pat her on the head, and she lets out a light giggle.

"You are strong, Weiss. You just have to stop letting first impressions ruin your experiences with other people. I'm not saying you should be all smiles and rainbows in the next minute, just take it slow." I said.

"Come on, let's have some tea. I believe we have a lot to catch up on." Weiss suggested.

Edward's POV

I ran into Ozpin in the hall, explained the situation to him, and we headed back to find Ruby sulking.

"Now, that didn't seem to go very well." Ozpin said.

"Is she right? Did you make a mistake?" Ruby asked.

"That remains to be seen." He chuckles.

"What do you mean?" She presses on.

"I mean that it's only been a day, Ruby. I've made more mistakes than any man, woman, or child on this planet, but at this moment, I would not consider your appointment to leader as one of them." He leaned in to emphasize his point, "Do you?"

Ruby stutters a bit before giggling a little, I'm guessing she's over it now.

"Listen, both of you. Being a team leader isn't just a title you carry into battle, but a badge you wear constantly. If you're not performing at your absolute best, then what reason do you give others to follow you?"

Guy knows his stuff, even though I didn't need this lesson. I know it sounds like I'd go banana nut butters on someone the second they irk me, but I like to think of myself as a passive psychopath. I'm willing to listen to any criticisms my team may have, as long as they don't put too much on me at once. I guess the moral here is that you shouldn't try to just be a leader, you also need to be a good person.

And I can't believe I just came to that conclusion on my own...

"Mercer, come with me. There's someone I want you to meet." Ozpin leads me to his office.

After a long while of walking, we enter through a set of double doors. My sight was filled by the colors of bronze and green. A green glass floor over spinning gears, gears on the walls, and the back window was the face of the school clock tower.

"Have a seat." Ozpin pointed to a chair with his cane.

I rolled my eyes and sat in one of the leather recliners he had set out. After a few minutes, a familiar face walked in.

"I hope I'm not late, professor?" Kaufmann took off his hat and removed his coat.

"Dr. Kaufmann, you're right on time." Ozpin's attempt at a joke shall go unappreciated, "Sit down, I've just made a fresh batch of coffee."

"Thank you, professor." Kaufmann turns to me and smiles, "Edward, it's good to see you again."

"Likewise, Doc."

"Edward, I am aware of the mental strain that your mother's passing has taken on you. I'm also aware of your excursion with the Snipper Gang, so I wanted to bring Kaufmann in to make sure that you're getting the care you need." Ozpin explains.

"What, so you think I need a babysitter?" I snarked.

Kaufmann chuckles and gets himself some coffee. He puts his stuff on the back of the recliner and sits down.

"Edward, we know what you did during your fight with Sweeney. We're doing this out of concern for the safety of your fellow students." Kaufmann says.

I nod, he's right. How can they be sure that I'm alright after I just straight up killed someone? Usually, someone else in my situation would declare that they're fine, they don't need help or are beyond saving. Sometimes following that up with threats of violence. Me, on the other hand, I know that I'm fixated on revenge, but I still want to get better. But... how long will it take? That's what gets me the most.

"I'd like for you to come see me every Saturday at eight PM, are we understood?"

"Okay, I'll leave myself a reminder on my scroll." I said.

Ozpin offered me a coffee, but I declined. Just not in the mood right now, what I really want is a BLT. I head over to the cafeteria and see my friends there, taking a seat across from Jaune, everyone just kind of stays in silence until Laurent tries talking to me.

"I don't think you'll have to worry about arguing with Weiss anymore."

"Why's that?" I asked.

"I had a talk with her earlier. All we can do now is hope that she takes it to heart." He replies.

I smile and get up, looking to see if this place is vending machine only or actually has a decent chef. Fortunately, it's the latter, so I asked for my craving for today.

"I'd like a BLT with cheddar and honey mustard, thank you."

After a few minutes, I got my sandwich and went back to the table, sitting next to Ruby this time.

"Hey, Edward?" She tried to start a conversation.

Hopefully, it isn't about something super personal.

"What kind of video games do you play?" She asked.

Well, that wasn't expected. I look at her with a smirk and a cocked eyebrow.

"Yes, I'm being serious, Ed... I don't want to drop by on the weekend and be like "Hey man, you wanna hang out?", "Sure, Ruby. Whaddya got?", "Oh, I just got this game about these teens who go into a tv world to stop a series of kidnappings with the power of these summoned monsters"."

"That actually sounds pretty cool." I reply.

Ruby grabbed my hand and held them to the seat, her eyes beaming like solar rays.

"Really?! Well, it's just single player... I also have a couple of fighting games, if you're into those." She says.

"The bloody, messy, and controversial kind?" I asked.

"Oh yeah." Ruby sneered.


	11. Sparring

_In that moment... my life changed..._

 _"Edward, stop!"_

 _My mother tried to pull me from the fire, only to fall into its burning embrace. The sound of steel slicing through flesh fills the air around me as I scream in horror._

 _"Mommy... I didn't mean to... I was..."_

 _I was too young, too weak to defend myself... Through my weakness, I killed her..._

I wake up in a cold sweat, it's still the middle of the night. I look over to see Renaldo, Laurent, and David still sleeping. Getting up from the bed, I look in the top bunk to see that Megan hasn't woken up.

'I should go clear my head...' I thought.

Dropping my copy of the room key into my pocket and putting on my usual, I exit the dorm room and head outside. Standing under a tree, I look up at the moon and take a flask from my breast pocket. Don't worry, it's just orange juice. Maybe I should switch out the flask for a canteen, holds more liquid... I take a swig and pour a bit out as a libation for my mom.

"I promise, I will avenge you... even if it costs me my life..." I mutter.

"Ed, you ok?"

My eyes widen as I turn around to see Ruby, still in her pajamas.

"What're you still doing up?" I asked in a slightly joking manner.

"I just woke up, heard you yelling and thought something happened."

I sigh as I take another swig from my flask.

"Are you... why are you drinking that stuff on school grounds?" She demanded, unaware of what I actually had.

"It's just OJ, Rubes. Contrary to popular belief, I haven't developed any self destructive habits... surprisingly."

Ruby stands next to me and tugs on my coat.

"So, what are you really doing out here? Did you have a bad dream?"

"Yeah... a nightmare, actually. I've been having the same fucking nightmare for the past few months..." I growl.

"What did you see?" Ruby asked.

I walked forward in a way so that if you were standing behind me, the moon would be directly above my head. Taking a deep breath, I speak.

"You know how my motivation for coming here was to gain the skills necessary to kill the Grimm that killed my mother, right?"

Ruby gave an affirming 'Hm hmm'.

"Well, that's just the shorter, less bloody version..."

* * *

"Whoa..." Megan and I stood astonished by the gruesome sight.

A large trail of blood led into the cave, but before we could go in, Dad pulled me back. Maybe he could sense something dangerous coming from there, and for a guy with as impressive a track record as him to be scared of anything, that scares me.

"No, not in a place like that." He said, "Whatever's in there is probably too dangerous, even for your mother and I."

"He's right. We should find somewhere else to train, just leave the larger threats to us." Mom followed up.

"Mom, if I don't fight an actual Grimm by myself, how am I supposed to get stronger?" I whined.

Megan put her hand on my shoulder, trying to dissuade me as well.

"You won't get stronger if you're dead." She tells solemnly.

But I didn't listen, I jerked myself from my Dad's grip and got closer to the cave.

"Then we all go in together! If there's just one thing in there, I'm sure we can handle it."

Mom and Dad look at each other and end the debate right then.

"Alright, but stay behind us, okay?"

I give Megan an 'I knew it' look before we headed into the cavern. The smell of blood hung thickly in the air and the sound of each step we took bounced across the walls like a rubber ball. Despite the entrance to the cave being quite large, there was barely any light, as if the sun was afraid to reach into this place. The only colors were the Red of blood that stained the cave floor. White of the bones of animals that littered the floor, some were larger animals, like bears and mountain lions, some were definitely human. Black from the perpetual darkness that stretched for what seemed like miles, and Yellow for the glow that served as the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, but at the same time, I knew it wasn't light, it was more like the glow of something wicked and cunning... something that was truly, unspeakably evil.

In all of my energetic youth, I somehow remained unfazed by these horrific sights and ignored my parents warning. I ran ahead and found the monster that would mark my first step in becoming a Huntsman.

(The Wraith is played by Mitch Lewis)

"So many to come before... only to fall in the end. Is the folly of your youth so unbearable that you would come to me for a early grave?"

Its voice sounded like it came out of the recesses of my darkest nightmares. It had a mane of stark white hair that reached it's ankles, eyes that were a burning yellow that exuded hatred for all living things. It's bonelike mask resembled a skull with a horrifying grin, a body that was so black that it seemed to absorb slightest bits of light that emanated from the fungi in the cave, and it had bloodied bandages wrapped around its arms, torso, and shins. Next to it was an oversized blade, it resembled a steak knife with a few chips and cracks on the blade with a handle that seems to be meant for four hands, and said handle was also wrapped in a blood red bandage that hung from the pommel, like a decorative tassel that was over three feet long.

At the sight of it, I dropped my sword and fell to the ground. I thought I was going to die. Mom and Dad ran in front of me with their weapons drawn, ready to defend the fruit of their labor.

"Megan, take your brother and get out of here, now!" Dad shouts.

The next few minutes are a blur, because of the fact that while Megan did pull me from the cave, the world became distorted around me. All sights and sounds blended together like some sort of abstract painting and song, and the only thing that was on my mind was a singular phrase.

Fight

Ripping myself from Megan's grasp, I ran back into the cave, finding my sword where I dropped it, but neither my parents nor the Grimm were in sight. I could hear the sounds of clashing steel elsewhere in the cave, so I instinctually followed it.

"Please... let them be okay..." I muttered to myself.

I did find them, and they weren't doing too good. The Wraith stood seven feet away from them with its sword laying on its shoulder. Mom stood on one knee while Dad tried to hold her up. This sight fueled another feeling within me... Hatred. I felt a burning sensation across my skin as I walked forward.

"And so, you return... How do you like the power I've gifted you?" The Wraith growled.

The burning grew more intense as I let out a low growl. I rushed at the Grimm only to find that my sword completely passed through it, like a knife through water. I got launched back and thrown into a nearby wall, taking my breath away for a few seconds.

'I could give you more, all you have to do is sever those who hold you down.'

It's voice rang in my skull, I grasped my head and collapsed to the floor on both knees. It was telling me to kill... destroy... mutilate... Then there was a brief moment of clarity when it reached out to touch me. It grasped my right shoulder, the sounds of searing flesh echoed as I screamed as loud as I could.

'Quiet, you're only making it worse for yourself.'

It let go as I looked to what it had done. A scar shaped like an omega symbol was formed. Standing up, I lazily pointed at the Grimm with my sword as the burning resumed. I could see the dark green flames as the pain suddenly disappeared.

"Edward, what are you doing?" Mom asked.

"It's alright... I'm going to save you!" I shouted as I rushed at the Grimm, sword upraised.

I could hurt it, my semblance has now been discovered. Not only was I immune to pain, but I could hurt it. Though I was severely outmatched, I fought with everything my six year old self could muster. Eventually, my mother got up and tried to pull me away from the fight... and she...

* * *

I stopped and looked down at the ground. Suddenly, I could feel Ruby's arms wrapped around my torso.

"Edward, I'm so sorry..." She whispered.

"Sorry for what? You don't have anything to apologize for..." I said.

She let go of me and walked in front of me, gave me a little smile, and hugged me.

"I want to help you." Ruby stated, bluntly.

My eyes widened, I opened my mouth to say something, but all that came out was a light cough.

"I'm not hearing a no..." She says in a smug tone.

"It's too dangerous... I don't want one of my friends to get hurt or killed because of me." I said.

Ruby looked up me, her eyes absolutely aglow.

"Friends? I figured since you usually act so doom and gloom all the time, you don't have friends."

"Very funny..." I tried to give her a noogie, but she zipped away before I could touch her.

She laughed before sitting under the tree, she patted the ground next to her, which I sit in.

"Of course, we're friends, aren't we? Isn't that what friends do... be concerned for each other's safety?" I asked.

Ruby leaned her head on my shoulder and let out a giggle. I let out as sigh and continued to stare at the moon.

"Do you want to see it?"

"See what?" She asked.

"My scar."

Ruby lifted her head and stared intently as I removed my jacket. Somewhere, deep inside the back of my mind, I think she was 'checking me out', as it were. I lifted my sleeve to show the omega shaped scar. Ruby's eyes widen, as if this confirms that the story I just told wasn't just a load of bullshit.

"Oh god..." She simply put.

"Believe me, I'm in need of one..." I groaned.

We sat there for another few minutes before Ruby dropped another bombshell.

"Are you gonna head back to the dorm?" I asked.

"Are you?" Ruby replied.

"... Nnnnnoooooo?" I said in a non-committed tone.

"Then I guess I'm not going back, I like it better out here... with you..."

"Excuse me, what?" I asked, not hearing that last part.

"Nothing." She said, leaning her head on my arm again.

We both fell asleep there, because when I opened my eyes next, it was morning. I shook Ruby to wake her up and walked her back to the dorm.

"You gonna be okay?" She asked.

"Do you even need to ask?" I replied, "Besides, you slept on dirt last night, so I'd invest in a new pair of sleeping pants if I were you."

Ruby raised an eyebrow at me, I groaned and lifted the hem of my coat.

"Black coat, easy to clean."

Almost immediately, both our doors flung open to reveal David and Yang, but before things could get nice and steamy, Yang pulled Ruby into a tight embrace.

"Oh my god, I was worried when I didn't see you this morning. Thank god you're alright!"

"Yang, I was fine. Edward was with me."

Yang looked up and gave me the stink eye.

"No, I didn't try anything. We just talked and napped under the same tree." I said nonchalantly.

Yang lessened her stare, turning her attention to David, and her tone went flirty.

"Better keep your friend in check, cutie. I'll see you later." She blew a kiss David's way and went back into the dorm with Ruby.

David let out a groan as I turned to him.

"Why does she keep doing that?" He asked.

"Simple, she likes you." I reply.

David let out another groan, I lightly punch him in the shoulder.

"You one lucky sonofabitch, you know that?"

"Feels more like a curse..." David laments.

"Come on, dude! Her boobs are bigger than your head! Most guys would kill to get a girl like that." I explained.

"Well, yeah... She's definitely beautiful, but it's her attitude. I was kind of hoping I'd ease into a relationship, not dive headfirst into deep end."

"So what? You wanna feel up her cans? Do the motorboat?" I joked.

"Edward!"

I shook my head back and forth while making the appropriate noises.

"You motorboatin' son of a bitch, you old sailor, you!"

Ruby's POV

Yang kept her ear pressed against the door, listening in to Edward and David's conversation.

"Oh, and I'd let him, too!" She laughed to herself as the rest of us tried to started our morning.

"So, you were hanging out with the psychopath last night?" Weiss asked.

"Edward's not a psycho! He told me about how his mom died, and I can understand that he'd have some mental scarring after that... but I can tell that he's trying his hardest to be normal."

Blake looked up from her book, smirking at me before resuming her reading.

"Sounds like you've got a crush on Edward." Yang teased.

"I-I don't!" I yelled back.

After that, I took a shower, brushed my teeth, and got dressed as we headed to breakfast. Fortunately, Saturday's are meant for club activities, so we get to wear our casual clothes. We all sit at the same table, talking about random videos we found online, stuff like that. Edward and I couldn't keep eye contact for the whole duration of the meal. So much for meaningful conversation. After breakfast, we all headed up to the Dueling Club that Ms. Goodwitch set up.

Edward's POV

A few other students went before us, a rabbit Faunus girl named Velvet and Blake had a match, after that was Pyrrha and Yang, and now...

"I'd like Renaldo Hellsing and Megan Mercer to step forward!" Glynda called out.

They looked at each other before stepping on to the platform. Pulling out their weapons, Renaldo looked a little worried, guessing he hasn't heard of 'equal rights, equal fights' yet.

"What's with Renaldo? He seemed fine earlier." David asked.

"Doesn't want to hit a girl, methinks." I reply, "You know, Megan's actually opposed to violence. But she has no problems fighting if it's necessary."

"Really? She usually seems so passive." Ruby cut in.

"Prepare to have your mind blown."

Renaldo spun his hatchets 'round his fingers and rushed forward. Swinging them down, Megan rushed her spear up and blocked his attack, then she jutted his hatchets back, dazing him for a second. Megan ducked and preformed a sweeping kick, leaving Renaldo on his back. The look on his face is completely priceless, allow me to sum up what he was thinking.

'Holy shit, I'm the heir to the Hellsing family and I lost to a girl! I'm such a disgrace! Mewl mewl...'

Something like that.

"Jaune Arc, Cardin Winchester!" Glynda called out.

Oh, this'll be fun. They step up and draw their weapons, but Jaune was clearly outmatched in terms of strength. Cardin's a big dude with a big weapon, bet he's overcompensating. Even though he's about to pass out, Jaune runs forward and swings, Cardin dodges it and swings back, launching Jaune halfway across the stage. Jaune, trooper that he is, gets back up and swings at Cardin again, he blocks. That look in his eyes, it's one I'm all too familiar with. He doesn't care about practice anymore, he just wants to hurt Cardin. That, I can relate to.

"This is the part where you lose." Cardin mocked.

"Over my dead-" Jaune was cut off by a sudden kick to the nads.

As he keeled over, Cardin raised his mace for the finishing blow, only for the buzzer to go off, ending the match.

"That's enough. Students, as you can see, Mr. Arc's aura has now dropped into the red. In a tournament style duel, this would indicate that Jaune is no longer fit for battle and that the official may call the match." Glynda explained.

I look up at Cardin, a cocky smirk across his face. Then I look at Jaune, who probably has a concussion on top of several fractured ribs. I clench my fist, dark green smoke emanates from my hand.

"Now, would anyone else care to give it a try?"

I step up, making sure each of my steps echo through the room.

"Sure, but why don't we raise the stakes a little?" I asked.

"What did you have in mind?" Cardin replies.

"I don't just fight you, I'll fight your entire team, all at once."

Cardin chuckles and places the head of his mace on the ground.

"Mr. Mercer, these matches are strictly meant to be one on one. Besides, I don't think that fighting them by yourself will-"

I glare at Glynda as she relents and calls the others up.

Russel has a pair of short scimitars with a revolver-like cylinder, similar to Weiss's rapier. Dove has a pistol sword, though nowhere near as cool as my own. Lark has some kind of halberd. The four of them circle around me like a pack of lions around a nervous gazelle. What they don't know is... it's not a gazelle they're hunting, it's a dragon.

BGM: The Beautiful People - Marilyn Manson (Instrumental)

"Begin!" Glynda shouts.

I draw my sword and point it a Cardin. Letting a dark grin cross my face, he shuffles nervously for a second. Running forward, I try to lock weapons with him, but Russel tries to block me, I step back and punch him in the gut. Dove and Lark run behind me, so I roll forward into a swing from Cardin, being knocked across the arena.

"Next time, don't start a fight you can't finish." He taunts.

From my spread eagled state, I lift my head up, my semblance on full blast. Groggily, I stood up, letting out a growl.

"For once, shut your fuckin' mouth!"

I dash forward and grab Dove by the face, planting him through the floor. I turn to Lark, who's sweating a whole munitions factory. Slowly I walk up to him, only for Russel to come back in and try to pull me to the ground. Swiftly, I whip around and give him a kick to the throat. He collapsed to the floor and I repeatedly kick him in the stomach until he passed out. Cardin ran up and tackled me, dropping his weapon and punching me in the face. I could hear a ringing in my ears with each hit, blood eventually came out of my mouth. He stopped for a second, so I turned my head towards him and let out a bloodstained smile. He recoils and I turn the situation around, grabbing his chest plate and head butting him in the nose. I stood up and rushed towards Lark, grabbing him by the hair and tossing him to Cardin, while Cardin was trying to pick the both of them up, I ran and drop kicked Lark's face against Cardin's armor. Swing my sword down, Cardin and I finally lock weapons, each swing was matched with another blow.

"You're insane!" He yelled.

"That's the idea!" I replied.

We kept swinging at each other, and I could tell that he was getting tired. When he raised his mace for a final time, I left a long scratch in his armor. Cardin let out a growl, threw down his weapon, and cracked his knuckles.

"Come on... Come on!" I yelled.

Before he could touch me, I quickly stepped out of the way and stuck my foot out, making him trip. I crouched down and grabbed him by the hair and repeatedly slammed his head into the floor like a drumbeat. Blood eventually came out of his forehead, but that didn't stop me. Before I could end this I was pulled back by Yang and Pyrrha.

"Edward, stop! He's had enough!" Glynda yelled.

"Let me go! I'm not done yet!" I yelled back.

"She's right, if you keep this up, you'll end up killing him." Yang said.

I looked at her with a dark glint in my eyes, "What did you think I was trying to do?"

They let me go, I stood up, hopped off the platform, and strolled out. Glynda went on about the upcoming Vytal Tournament, but I didn't care enough to listen. The rest of my team ran after me, stopping me in the middle of the hall.

"Edward, what the hell was that?" Laurent demanded.

"What Cardin deserved..." I said before continuing my walk.

Renaldo puts his hand on my chest to stop me, I narrow my eyes in frustration.

"What if you get expelled for this?! Or worse, sent to prison! This isn't okay, Edward!" He shouts.

"I don't care." I growl, pushing Renaldo away and making my way to the dorm.

I sit on my bed and grasp my head in my hands.

'Shit, it nearly happened again!'

First Sweeney, now this?! Why am I so angry all of a sudden?! I don't understand! Before I could contemplate farther, Megan and David walk in.

"Edward, you alright?" She asked.

"No, I'm not."

David looks at me like I'm a complete stranger, his ears lower a bit.

"Dude, it was like you turned into a monster."

"You think I don't know that?! I have no idea what I even am anymore! Every day, I feel like all morality is just slipping away. I just don't have it in me to care about anything else anymore, I just get so... angry... and I want to hurt people!"

What have I become?

"Excuse me, can I talk to him?"

Megan and David look back, standing in the door is Ruby. They look at each other before letting her in and stepping out. As soon as the door closed, Ruby zipped over to me and tightly wrapped her arms around me.

"Ruby, I-"

"Shh, shh, it's okay." She ran her hands through my hair reassuringly.

My heart beat slows down as I start to relax, eventually, I'm laying down with my head rested on Ruby's lap.

"I... I don't know why, but I keep getting more and more angry with each passing day..." I said.

"Things will get better, they always do." Ruby replied, twirling a lock of my hair.

A while later, we got up and went over to cafeteria. I grabbed a BLT and Ruby got a bag of mini cookies. We sat down with everyone else with Ruby between me and them. Nora was just about to tell a story.

"So... There we were, in the middle of the night..."

"It was day." Ren corrected.

"We were surrounded by Ursi!" She continued.

"They were Beowulves."

"Dozens of them!" Nora exclaimed.

"Two of 'em." Ren groaned.

It's amazing how much he puts up with, keep it up and I might suspect that they have a thing for each other.

"But they were no match, and in the end, Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa skin rugs!"

"She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now." Ren clarifies.

I'm halfway through my sandwich as I notice Jaune, who has barely touched his food. Pyrrha tries to get him out of his funk.

"Jaune, are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Why?" He asked.

"You seem pretty out of it, dude, I should know." I said.

He forces a smile, "But guys, I'm fine. Seriously, look!"

He gave a thumbs up and a nervous chuckle, yeah, not buying it. We heard laughing from the other table, team CRDL were harassing that rabbit Faunus. So, I'm guessing that they managed to get over their injuries quickly. Seeing this really pissed me off. No, it's not because I'm some fucking mouth breather who advocates for civil rights and everyone getting along but does it just because he thinks it'll get him laid. I see something I don't like, so I go over to kick its ass.

"Jaune, Cardin's been picking on you since day one." Pyrrha said.

"Who, Cardin Winchester? Ah, he just likes to mess around, you know, practical jokes!" Jaune defends.

"He's a bully!" Ruby follows up.

"Ruby, no need to sugarcoat. He's not a bully, Jaune, he's a fuckin' asshole." I state.

"Yeah, that." Ruby points at me.

Jaune sputters a bit, like he was going to say 'well, I'd never!'

"Oh, please. Name one time he's bullied me."

"That time he knocked your books out of your hand." Blake stared blankly.

"How about when he made your sword sheath turn into a shield when you went into Port's class?" Renaldo said.

"And my personal favorite, when he shoved you into one of those rocket lockers and launched you into the Emerald Forest." Yang followed.

"That was not a fun day to be in the woods." David said sorrowfully.

Yang wrapped her arm around David's shoulder and gave him the bedroom eyes, "Good thing you were able to find him, otherwise we'd have to spend more time alone in the woods."

David looked at me and mouthed 'Help me!', I just gave him a thumbs up and finished my sandwich.

"Jaune, you know that if you ever need help, you can just ask." Pyrrha says.

"Ooh! We'll break his legs!" Nora shouted.

"I second the breaking of his legs plan!" I shouted back.

"Guys, really, it's fine! Besides, it's not like he's only a jerk to me. He's a jerk to everyone!"

We all stared at him with an expression that read 'And that's a good thing?'.

"Ow, that hurts!"

I looked over to see Cardin pulling on Velvet's ears. Okay, line's been crossed.

"I'll be right back." Standing up, I head to the other table.

"Told you they were real!"

"What a freak!"

Now that I'm behind them, I thought up a quick plan. I reach for Cardin's ears and yank him from his seat.

"Sorry, it just looked so fun, I just couldn't help myself."

I stepped on his shoulder and pulled harder, he started squealing like a pig.

"Okay, okay! Uncle, uncle!" He screamed.

"Sorry, that shit doesn't fly with me. You do something wrong, and you'll be rightfully punished." I hissed.

I looked over to the others, and they all had either a look of shock or concern. Except for Blake, she smiled and nodded her head towards me. Yeah yeah, Faunus rights, blah blah blah. Rolling my eyes, I turn to Velvet.

"Well, the fuck are you still doing here?" I asked.

She had tears in her eyes as she stood up and ran. I let go of Cardin's ear as I went back to the table.

"Atrocious, I can't stand people like him." Pyrrha mumbled, "Edward, good on you for stopping him."

I did that thing where I wink, make a finger gun gesture, and click my tongue twice.

"He's not the only one." David and Blake said in unison.

"Must be hard to be a Faunus." Yang looked over to David with a sorrowful expression, he gave her a little smile.

Jaune got up and went somewhere else, but I noticed Cardin staring at him with a smirk on his face. I whistled to Cardin, he looks at me, and I point to my eyes, then him, then I trace a line across my throat.

"Jeez, he's crazy." Russel said.

"I know. Still can't believe that he managed to beat us." Dove followed.

"Don't worry, I have a plan for that." Cardin whispered something to his team.

Oobleck's class

The teacher's voice sounded familiar, like a certain character from a show I watched. I think he wore blue armor and team killed all the time.

"This is prior to the Faunus rights revolution, more popularly known as the Faunus war! Humankind was quite, quite adamant about centralizing Faunus population in menagerie."

Okay, I have no idea what's in his coffee, but I want some. Dude's zipping around the room like Sonic the Goddamn Hedgehog.

"Now, while this may feel like ancient history to many of you. It is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events. Why, the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen to this day."

Yeah, I remember David telling me about that when we were kids. All because of the simple fact that nobody can get over their differences. First it was skin color, then religion, then gender, and now animal ears? Some people just don't learn.

"Have any among you been subjugated or discriminated against because of your Faunus heritage?"

A good number of students raised their hands, Velvet and David included. Blake didn't raise hers, still trying to maintain her cover.

"Dreadful, simply dreadful! Remember, students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence." Oobleck takes another sip of liquid crack, "I mean, I mean... just look at what happened to White Fang! Now, which one of you young scholars could tell me what many theorists believe to be the turning point in the third year of the war?"

Weiss immediately raises her hand up and gets called on, "The Battle at Fort Castle."

"Precisely! And who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagoons forces?"

Cardin flicked a paper in the back of Jaune's head, causing him to involuntarily become the one who has to answer.

"Mr. Arc, finally contributing to class! This is excellent. Excellent! What is the answer?"

Unfortunately, Pyrrha sucks at using sign language, so Jaune became a laughing stock when he answered binoculars.

"Cardin, perhaps you would care to share your thoughts on the subject?" Oobleck called.

"Well, I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier."

"You're not the most open-minded individual, are you?" Megan asked.

"Got a problem with that, Mercer?!"

That's it, I'm gonna kill him. Before I could stand up, Megan pulls me back down.

"He's not worth it." She whispered.

"I have the answer. It's night vision." Pyrrha called out, "Many Faunus are known to have nearly perfect sight in the dark."

"General Lagoon was inexperienced and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep. His massive army was outmatched and the General was captured." Blake followed, "Perhaps if he'd pay more attention in class, he wouldn't have been remembered as such a failure."

That last comment was obviously aimed towards Cardin, so I decided to rub some salt in the wound.

"Gonna need some ice water for that burn, Winchester!" I yelled.

Later

Classes were over and I was bored out of my skull. So I went out for a walk.

"Hey, Edward!" Ruby called out.

"Don't we have a field trip tomorrow? You should get some sleep."

"I could say the same to you." Ruby giggled.

I looked back and rolled my eyes.

"Would... you like to walk with me?" I asked.

She ran up to my side, I took that as a yes. We walked around the courtyard for a while, eventually heading back into the dorm building. We talked about a few things, leading to us talking about the Jaune and Cardin situation.

"Maybe we should report Cardin to Ozpin." Ruby said.

"I think Jaune should stand up for himself. But if it were me, I'd just beat the shit outta Cardin."

Ruby rolled her eyes at me, we stopped and noticed Jaune about to head back into his dorm.

"Hey, Jaune!" Ruby called out.

He turned around while making a startled noise.

"You lock yourself out again?" I asked.

"Oh, uh, nope... Got the key right here." He held up his scroll and chuckled nervously.

Ruby and I look at each other for a moment, we look back at Jaune. There's only one question to ask now...

"Where have you been lately?" We asked.

Jaune slumped his shoulders and stared at the floor.

"I messed up... I did something I shouldn't have, and now Cardin's got me on a leash, and Pyrrha won't even talk to me, and..." Jaune said, "I'm starting to think coming to this school was a bad idea. I'm a failure."

Jaune leaned against the wall and slid to the floor, sulking in his misery. Come on, that's my job.

"If it's any consolation, I don't think you've failed... Not yet, anyway." I said, leaning down.

"You're a leader now, Jaune. You're not allowed to be a failure." Ruby stated in a kind of ominous tone.

"Well, what if I'm a failure at being a leader?" Jaune asked.

I looked up at Ruby and cocked an eyebrow, she smiled and sat down with us.

"You know, neither of you are the easiest to talk to about this kinda stuff." Jaune chuckled.

"Nope. You might've been a failure when you were a kid, or even when we first met, but you can't be one now."

With those words, I put my hand on Jaune's shoulder.

"You want to be a success, right? You're not gonna get anywhere if you just wallow in self pity. I mean, it's not just about you anymore. We have teams now, and we got to stick with them, just as they stick with us. If we fail, we bring our friends and family down with us." I said.

Ruby stood up and went back to her dorm, saying goodnight. Leaving us guys to figure out the rest.

"You two are right, I've got to stop feeling sorry for myself." Jaune said.

"Hey, if Cardin still gives you a hard time. Just send him over to me." I pat Jaune on the shoulder and head over to Ozpin's office.

"Where are you going?" Jaune asked.

"Therapy!"

Thirty minutes later

As I walk through the halls, I think over what I've learned so far. First impressions aren't everything. It's okay to ask for help sometimes. Wallowing in self pity gets you nowhere.

"Okay, let's see the Doctor."

I push open the doors, Ozpin and Kaufmann were already waiting for me.

"Edward, good to see you." Kaufmann says, pulling up a seat, "So, how has your first week been so far?"

"It's... it's been going pretty well, I have the first five-person team in the history of the academy, I've made some pretty good friends. I've also learned a few things..."

"Do tell, Mr. Mercer." Ozpin inquired.

"Well, I've been trying to make myself stronger, not giving the time of day to anyone, just focusing on myself. Having people rely on me turns that around a little, and it... it feels good when I do something selfless." I said.

"We heard about your fight with team CRDL during the dueling club, care to elaborate on that?" Kauffman asked.

"I just got mad when Cardin beat Jaune, so I wanted to repay the favor." I replied.

Kauffman slapped the armrest of his chair, "And you nearly killed Mr. Winchester! He's fine, thankfully, but you need to show more restraint!"

"He hurt one of my friends! And it wasn't just a sparring session then, Jaune was severely outmatched and was getting the tar beaten out of him! You wanted me to just stand by? I thought the point Huntsman was to help people in need."

Ozpin tapped his cane against the floor and glared at me, "That's no excuse for your violent behavior. While I find it astounding that you managed to fight off four trained warriors at once, I won't tolerate this. Mercer, I trust that you'll change your attitude."

"Why do you care so much?!" I snapped, "I've never seen you before, and I would've remembered hearing about you from my dad or someone else in my family. So, why the hell are you so damn concerned with my mental health?!"

Ozpin sighed and leaned against his desk, "Because I owed an ancestor of yours a favor, and I always repay my debts."

An ancestor? Just how old is he? But I shouldn't derail the issue now.

"Okay, I'll try to calm down. But if Cardin and his team do something to piss me off, it's their fault, not mine." I said, getting up to leave the room.

"Edward!" Kaufmann called out.

I turn back, both of them stood up.

"Stay close to your teammates, they'll help you."

I smirked, mainly because I already knew that. Leaving the office, I made a few rounds around the school, trying to tire myself out.

"Well, well, look who we got here."

I turn around and see Lark, Russel, and Dove.

"Cardin too chicken to try and get me himself, eh?"

"Not quite."

Before I could move, Cardin grabbed me from behind. I let out an angered growl and tried to break free, but Cardin is stronger than I am.

"See, we wanted to pay you back for that little spectacle from earlier. So, my friends and I are going to beat you senseless. Have at him."

Dove walked up and slammed his fist into my chest, knocking the breath out of my lungs. As I desperately gasped for air, he punched me in the face, making the process start over. Russel and Lark got their licks in, and this went on for a while. I couldn't focus enough on my anger to activate my semblance. With each blow, my mind scattered. I... need to keep my head up... Cardin dropped me to the ground, I coughed up some blood and nearly puked. A drawback of using my semblance and throwing myself into danger too often, my organs aren't weak thanks to aura, but they aren't exactly sturdy.

"Seriously? I guess you really are nothing without that semblance, Mercer." Cardin taunted, pulling me up by the hair, "I did some digging on you, and I heard about your mother."

My eyes shot open as soon as he finished his sentence. I glared daggers are him as the adrenaline kicked in.

"Maybe that's why your mom died, you were weak. You see, might controls everything. Without it, you cannot protect anything, or anyone... let alone yourself."

I roared like a mad beast, grabbed Cardin by the throat, and rushed over to a nearby window. I broke the window and held Cardin over a three story drop.

"H-hey! Let me go!" Cardin cries out.

"You want to be making requests like that?" I said in an emotionally deprived tone.

"Mercer, let him go!" Lark yelled.

I look back at them and give them a wide eyed grin.

"Okay." I said childishly.

I let my hand slip, and let Cardin fall a few feet before I grabbed his arm.

"You were right..." I mumbled.

"What?!" Cardin screamed.

"I couldn't save my mother, I was too weak. But I was only six years old at the time... I've gotten stronger, and I will find the thing that killed her. Only I can stop it... So if you value your lives in any capacity, you'll leave me alone."

I pulled Cardin back up to solid ground, and left back to my dorm. Bells rang in my ears with each step I took, and I had to find a garbage can to throw up in. I stumbled farther towards the dorms and crashed through one of the doors. The last thing I heard were the voices of team RWBY before I passed out.


End file.
